


Shower Talk

by BelleBasBleue



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Feels, Cuddles, Eventual reveal, F/M, OC Kagami, OC Luka, OC characters, Plot, Protect Adrien Agreste, Showers, Songfic, and oblivious, they are too cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 89,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleBasBleue/pseuds/BelleBasBleue
Summary: Adrien loves showers. He practically lives in them, but how much more will he love showers when a mysterious girl starts singing along.





	1. Chapter 1

** Weird, Nightly Escapades **

Moving was hard work, Adrien found. Sweaty work as well. After getting a bachelor’s degree in physics Adrien had finally moved back to Paris and into his own apartment. It was a small apartment that only had one main room with a small bedroom and bathroom connected to it, but it would soon smell like cheese and Adrien finally felt at home for once in his life.

Adrien threw off his sweaty shirt and turned on the shower. From the other side of the wall he could hear another tenant's shower turning on with some music playing in the background. Adrien dismissed this useless information and pulled the rest of his clothes off and stepped into the shower.

Showers always made Adrien feel calm. That was a bad thing in his teenage years because of his job as Chat Noir _and_ Adrien. He had to use the excuse of taking a shower too many times in front of his companion. Ladybug probably still thought, to this day, that he lived in the shower. Adrien admitted silently to himself that it was sadly very true.

As the water poured off of his body Adrien's ears picked up on the music that had been turned louder in the bathroom through the wall. Adrien recognized the song as the beginning of "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk and Nate Ruess. Adrien was familiar with the song and knew most of the words and always enjoyed the American song when it came on the radio.

Adrien was surprised by a girl's voice that started singing along with the song. She had a very pretty voice, and her pitch was perfect for the song. He squirted a palm sized amount of shampoo onto his hand and he soothingly rubbed it through his scalp. The song had reached the chorus and Adrien once again marveled at her voice. Adrien was so entranced that he started to sing along. “I’m sorry I don’t understand where all of this is coming from. I thought that we were fine.”

The girl's voice faltered and a blush erupted in Adrien's cheek as he realized what he was doing. He was about to stop and apologize profusely but her weak voice joined his when the background vocalist joined in.

"Yeah this is happening."

Adrien's stopped singing for just a second in surprise. _She’s not angry about this! Why is she not angry about this?! WHY IS SHE SINGING ALONG!! WHAT AM I DOING?_ Adrien thought to himself, yet he ignored his thoughts as he started to sing again. The lyrics went on and they quickly became comfortable enough to sing together at the same time in a harmony. Right before they entered the chorus Adrien continued to think how crazy he was to be singing in the shower with a stranger. _How is she not turning off her music to go and call the police?_ The girl on the other side was singing with a small voice so far, but she shocked Adrien when she suddenly belted out the words to the chorus, giving him strength to continue.

"Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough. Just a second, we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again!" Adrien faced his shower head, enjoying the beat of the water on his head and the effect the drums had on his body. "It's still written in the scars on my heart."

"We're not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again." Their voices raised a few notes to reach the bridge successfully and they both grinned to themselves triumphantly.

"Give our tear ducts a rest!" She cried.

"I'll fix it for us," Adrien replied.

"We're collecting dust, but our love's enough!"

"You're holding it in."

"You're pouring a drink!"

"Oh nothing is as bad as it seems." As the partner to the song, Adrien helped the song reach its climax by slowly gaining volume and lengthening his words. The woman in the other bathroom took the bait and let her voice reach a new height with so much emotion Adrien's blood shivered.

"We'll come clean!" she sang at the top of her voice. Adrien wondered if this song meant anything to her. He found that when he had an emotional connection to the song he was able to sing everything perfectly according to the mood of the song. Nevertheless the song continued.

With a much more staccato rhythm the two repeated the chorus again and again until the end of the song. Adrien washed out the rest of his conditioner, but wanted to wait until the end of the song to turn off the shower.

"We're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again." The girl sung the last words and they stood there in their showers listening to the last chords of the song. Once it had ended her stereo apparently had no other songs to play, and silence just spread between the two bodies and the thin wall.

Realizing that they could be standing there for several minutes if no one did anything, Adrien decided to speak up. "Uhh........you have a really nice singing voice," Adrien stuttered.

"Umm, thanks?" came her voice. Her voice sounded like small waves lapping against the shore, soothingly. Another awkward silence grew between them, and Adrien again felt compelled to fix it.

"I'm really starting to realize how weird and creepy this is, but I really didn't mean any harm by this. I just kind of liked your song choice."

"I see," she said uneasily. She turned her water off, and Adrien heard her get out and grab a towel. "Well, it was nice meeting you, new neighbor, but, uhh...I really need to get ready and........stuff."

Adrien turned off his shower as well and felt his hand go to the back of his neck nervously as he grabbed for his towel. "Yes, of course. I'll leave you alone." For several minutes the only sound that could be heard was the silent scraping of different utensils being picked up and put down.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that you have a nice, uh, singing voice as well," the girl stumbled over her words and Adrien laughed a little.

"Thank you. Do you think I could make a career out of it?" Adrien asked jokingly. The girl replied in the same manner, easily.

"Ha! I said you were good, but not that good." Adrien could feel her smile grow. "How about me?"

"I think you could make a go at it, but I don't think you'd get very far in a competition," Adrien replied honestly, sort of. In his true opinion he had only heard one voice better than the girl's, and that had been his mother's.

"Gee, thanks for the compliment," she said sarcastically. Adrien shrugged.

"Only returning the favor." They both laughed at that.

Both of them finished up their business in the bathroom, and Adrien heard her open her door.

"Thanks for the interesting shower, neighbor, but I need to get to bed," she called. Adrien checked the time on his watch and realized it was almost ten. He needed to get to bed too.

"Same," he replied. An idea popped into his head. "Hey, not to be a creep, but when do you usually get ready in the morning? I'm sort of interested to learn about what music you listen to." There was a pause of silence on her side, but she spoke up before Adrien could back pedal.

"I'm in the bathroom with my music from around six to seven-ish every morning. And FYI, I expect to listen to your music every once in a while as well."

Adrien smiled. "But a simple request for a wonderful reward."


	2. Good Morning

** Good Morning **

            It was the first morning in a while that Marinette jumped up happily to start the day. She was not a morning person at all, and she usually needed three cups of coffee to be her usual happy self at her intern job. This morning felt different, and the main reason was the excitement of getting to sing with someone in the shower.

            “Oh Tikki, what am I going to do? What music should I play? What if I choose a song he hates? What if he really doesn’t want to listen to my terrible singing and he was lying?” Marinette stood in her main room of her apartment, pacing. The apartment looked as if it had been lived in for quite a few months. There was a blue couch with a used coffee table in front of it. On the wall was one, small tv and several paintings of Marinette’s designs. Overall it didn’t look too different from her room at her parents’ house.

            Tikki looked at Marinette with a raised eyebrow. “Mari? You are adorable. He does want to listen to whatever songs you have on your i-pod. He was flirting with you last night. He wants to get to know you.”

            “Flirting? Really? And who would want to get to do that. In a shower, no less. That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard.” Marinette exasperatedly threw her i-pod onto her stack of clothing. “I still have to decide what music to play. I can’t exactly start playing my k-pop songs!”

            Tikki considered for a second on how to respond. “How about your Broadway collection? If he is a true human, he’s got to like some Broadway, or at least a little of the Disney musicals.”

            Marinette sighed at Tikki’s decision, but she still scrolled to her Broadway playlist and stepped into the bathroom. She shut her door quietly and turned on her music. On the other side of the apartment wall Marinette heard someone crash into the sink in a rush as he put his clothes down and slammed the door closed.

            “Someone’s in a hurry,” Marinette commented with a smile in her voice.

            The boy replied in a groggy voice. “I just woke up, and realized that I was late for a very important date.”

            “I didn’t know you wanted to listen to me shower so much. It is not very interesting.” Marinette quipped as she took out some of her utensils like a hair curler, toothpaste, and a hair brush, and put them on the counter of her sink.

            “Oh, please, don’t flatter yourself,” the mysterious boy joked. “I’m here for the wake up music. I hear you have some nice Disney Broadway going on right now. Could you turn it up?” the boy said, straightening his stack of clothes.

            “Sure. I was in a Broadway sort of mood this morning. Hope you don’t mind,” Marinette said uneasily. She was nervously playing with the draw stings on her pajama pants and was hoping quietly that the boy on the other side of the wall would like Broadway.

            “Not at all. Do you happen to have some Wicked songs?” The boy asked hopefully.

            “Uh, yeah. I’ll put some on now,” Marinette answered quietly as she focused on finding the playlist on her i-pod. The beginning of “Popular”, sung by Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, began and both the boy and the girl turned on their showers.

            “Thank you,” he thanked Marinette as he started pulling off his clothes. “I know some of these songs are not duets, like the one we sang yesterday, so maybe we can just sing together to warm up our voices until there is a duet?”

            Marinette nodded. “Sure! I guessed we were going to do that anyway.” Marinette slipped into the shower first, and also was the first to join Galinda. “It’s the toughest case I’ve yet to face….Don’t worry, I’m determined to succeed.”

            “Follow my lead,” the guy’s voice joined in. The soothing clack of a shower curtain filled some of the silence between some of the notes, and Marinette smiled giddily.

            A bell chimed in the song, and the tone of the song suddenly changed and both of them started bopping around their showers to the new beat.

            “Popular. You’re gonna be Pop-u-u-lar. I’ll teach you the proper ploys when you talk to boys. Little ways to flirt and flounce, Whoo!” They both sang. Marinette’s feet bounced apart so that they were more than a shoulder’s width apart and she rocked her hips back and forth in time to the beat to imitate Galinda’s interesting dance moves. “I’ll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix your hair! Everything that really counts to be Popular!”

            Marinette popped open her cherry blossom scented shampoo and let some of the liquid pour into her hand, and applied it to her hair as the song went on. She piled her shoulder length hair on top of her head and enjoyed the feeling of it falling back onto her shoulders with the soap suds streaming down her face.

            On the other side of the wall, Marinette could hear the boy slipping and sliding around his shower while singing in a ridiculous, falsetto voice. Marinette fought extremely hard with herself not to burst out laughing at the mental image she had of a young man executing perfect dance moves in soapy water. She couldn’t hold it in any longer when she heard him cry out as he slipped and fell against the wall only to slide down it.

            “It’s not that funny…” The boy said in a pouty voice, only making Marinette laugh harder. “I only slipped. What kind of friend are you to be laughing at my pain.” As she continued to laugh, the boy muttered in a stage whisper while he was getting up. “You are so cruel. Can’t a guy get support on perfectly executing a very hard dance move?”

            “Is that dance move called falling on your but? ‘Cause I think you could write a book about this ‘really hard’ dance move. You could call it: ‘The Art of Falling: How to make it look and sound ridiculous,’” Marinette joked. The silence between songs was filled with the words of the dark words that the boy was muttering and Marinette’s giggles.

            “Alright, I’m sorry for making fun of you. Are you alright?” Marinette asked earnestly.

            “Yeah, I guess. My ego may be a little worse for ware, but other than that, I’m relatively fine.” The boy replied with a smile in his voice. “You ready for this song?” The next Wicked song started, and Elphaba’s voice started the lyrics to “Defying Gravity”. “I do have to warn you though; I can hit that last note perfectly, so watch out.”

            Marinette replied to the boy’s remark, snarkily. “Don’t worry; I’m warning my eardrums now.” Despite the song’s dark tone, a goofy atmosphere enveloped between the two showers. _This has to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever done. But I have to admit_ , Marinette thought, _it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It feels like the two of us were just meant to meet in the oddest way possible_.

            Marinette changed to her conditioner as she joined in with Elphaba. “Something has changed within me. Something is not the same. I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game.”

            “Too late for second guessing,” the mysterious boy joined in. “Too late to go back to sleep! It’s time to trust my instincts…..close my eyes….and leap!”

            “It’s time to try Defying Gravity. I think I’ll try Defying Gravity, and you can’t pull me down.” The both of them cried. Unlike the other song, Marinette and the boy were making dramatic gestures and movements around their tiny showers instead of hopping around.

            The song leapt into its powerful chorus at the end and Marinette held her hand out for her imaginary broom. She glared at her shower head as if it was the Oz Guard as she sang in her strongest voice; completely mesmerized by the moment. “So if you care to FIND ME! LOOK TO THE WESTERN SKY! As someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to FLY!”

            “And if I’m flying solo, at least I’m flying free! To those who ground me take a message back from me! Tell them how I’m defying gravity!” Marinette washed the rest of the soap off of her, and she turned her shower off, but kept on singing.

            “And nobody, in all of Oz. No wizard that there is or WAS! Is ever gonna bring…..ME DOWN!” Marientte’s and the boy’s voices screeched together. By the time the final note came to pass, neither of them had the breath to sing it.

            The boy coughed as he turned off his shower. “I kind of feel bad for our neighbors having to listen to our…’singing’ this early in the morning.”

            Marinette nodded in agreement. She grabbed her reddish-pink towel and wrapped it around herself. “Yeah, I guess I should feel that way too, but in my mind, it’s payback to the crazy kids that live on my right side. They love to run into the other side of my bedroom wall at 3:30 in the morning,” Marinette said, annoyed. The boy laughed.

            The last song on Mari’s Wicked playlist came on. The piano melody of “As Long As You’re Mine” rang from her stereo and through her wall to the adjacent bathroom. Mari’s face became as red as the rouge in the French flag when she started to think about singing this song with the person through the wall that she didn’t even know the name of. In a weak voice, Marinette asked: “Umm, do you want to sing this song as a duet, or together, or a whole other song or we can just…” Marinette kept on rambling, but was stopped by the boy’s equally quiet voice.

            “Uh..sure.. we can sing this song as a duet. I think we’ve warmed up enough…”

            Marinette played with one hair curl and twisted it round and round as she began the song. “Kiss me too fiercely. Hold me too tight. I need help believing you’re with me tonight.”

            “My wildest dreamings could not foresee…lying beside you, with you wanting me…” Marinette started putting on her clothes and deodorant as she continued her part in the song. She didn’t know it was possible to shake so much.

            “And just for this moment. As long as you’re mine. I’ve lost all resistance, and crossed some border line. And if it turns out it’s over too fast! I’ll make every last moment last……As long as you’re mine,” Marinette sang. She felt the same nerves that she had the night before, but she couldn’t even tell if they were nerves anymore. The way that she got into character almost every time that she sang got in the way of deciphering her own mind. She could only be sure that her heart was beating too fast as she waited for the boy to sing.

            On the other side of the wall the boy took a deep breath, and then started to sing with all the emotions he could muster at 6:30 in the morning. “Maybe I’m brainless. Maybe I’m wise. But you’ve got me seeing through different eyes…”

            “Somehow I’ve fallen under your spell, and somehow I’m feeling…IT’S UP THAT I FELL!” the boy cried.

            Marinette lifted her eyes from her sink to her mirror and imagined the boy was standing right in front of her as they sang the chorus in a harmony. “Every moment... As long as you’re mine. I’ll wake up my body….. and MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME.”

            The boy jumped into his solo, and Mari relaxed instantly to his voice, but the tempo of her pulse refused to follow that of the song. “Say there’s no future for us… as a pair…”

            “I know…I may know…I don’t CARE! Just for this moment. As long as you’re mine. Come be how you want to….and see how bright WE SHINE! Borrow the moonlight…until it is through……” They both sang, lowering their volume to get ready for the last verse. “And know...I’ll be here…holding you……..As long as you’re mine!” The last chord of the song rolled into the air, and Marinette took several deep breaths to calm herself. She finished putting on her makeup and brushing her hair, and then unhooked her i-pod from her stereo, leaving an unpleasant buzzing noise until she turned her stereo off. From what she could hear, she could tell the boy was finishing up as well.

            Marinette checked her clock and saw that she had only about ten minutes to get to work, and she freaked out a little. She had been late only once, and it had turned into an utter disaster. Marinette didn’t really feel like getting on Gabriel Agreste’s bad side again anytime soon.

            “Hey, I have to go, but this has been…interesting to say the least. Thank you for listening to Wicked with me, even though it probably wasn’t much fun,” Marinette chattered as she collected her belongings and her bag of utensils and turned to run out the door. “I’ll see you, I mean hear you, tomorrow morning then?”

            “Uh, yeah, sure. I’ll hear you later, neighbor. I should probably get to work too.” His voice sounded like he’d like to do anything but that.

            Marinette smiled. “Yeah, that probably would be best.” Her hand hesitated on the doorknob. She quickly turned around to face the wall that served as a barrier between them. “How about you choose the music next time. That way I can learn a little bit about you…….person with no name,” Mari added.

            The boy answered with a smile in his voice. “Sure thing, little lady. And the name’s………Fiyero.”

            “That’s not you’re name.” Marinette retorted.

            “Of course it is!” He answered all too cheerily.

            Marinette shook her head exasperatedly. “I’m fine with not going with real names for now, but Fiyero? Really? I’m not going to call you that. Trouble, maybe, because you seem to be nothing but that.”

            “Fine by me. How about you? What do you want to be called? I’ll be the gentleman in this situation and allow you to choose your name,” Trouble replied. Marie smiled as she thought.

            Being Ladybug gave her enough nicknames as it was, and she definitely didn’t want to share those with Trouble. Those nicknames were only for her lost cat to use. _Stop thinking about that!_ Mari’s brain angrily reminded her. Mari shut her eyes and quickly chose the first name that came to mind. “KIKI! Umm…” Mari said her next sentence a little quieter. “Kiki; call me Kiki.”

            “Very well. Nice to meet you Kiki, but I believe you might be late for work,” Trouble advised.

            Marinette peered at the clock and cursed as she ran out the door yelling: “SEE YOU TOMORROW TROUBLE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Thank you for the support from just posting one chapter on here. As one of the commenters mentioned, yes this story was originally posted on fanfiction.net under my name. I just decided to transfer the story onto here as I continued to work on the ending. I hope you liked this chapter. I love Wicked, and pretty much any Broadway show. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. If you want you can give me some song suggestions, and I'll try to add them in. Until I write again, TTFN!


	3. Serial Killers

            “Wait….So let me get this straight. You have a new neighbor that you’re friends with, but you don’t really know him because you’ve only sang with him in the shower?????? GIRL! What if he’s a serial killer?! What if he is one of those crazy people that just murder for fun!” Alya cried, dismayed.

            “Alya, it’s fine. My landowner is smart. He wouldn’t let a serial killer live in his building. I’m pretty sure I can trust this new neighbor,” Marinette responded. “Plus, we all know murder is super fun,” she joked.

            It was a cold autumn day that actually felt and looked like winter instead of autumn in Paris. Alya and Marinette were taking a stroll in the park near Marinette’s old home, dressed in their warmest clothes, chittering about their lives during the week.

            “Sure….What’s his name?” Alya asked rapidly as they sat on a bench in front of the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue that had been erected so long ago.

            Marinette fidgeted on her seat. “That’s not important.” Alya raised her eyebrow. “Ok, maybe it sort of is, but it’s not important to me. We just kind of made up nicknames for each other.” When Alya still didn’t lower her raised eyebrow, Marinette returned the look. “I’m safe, mom. He seems nice enough, but I guess if he were a serial killer I can use my martial arts skills to render him immobile.”

            Alya sighed, momentarily satisfied. “Alright, I know you will be fine, but excuse me for being worried about you.”

            “Mom,” whispered Marinette.

Alya laughed. “So are we getting food or what?” She stood up and struck a dramatic pose and pointed to Marinette’s parents’ bakery. “TALLY HO!” Alya cried, “Onwards, my son!”

            Marinette allowed her friend to drag her along into the bakery. They stumbled, laughing, into the bakery like two drunken sisters. Weaving through the line, and welcoming a few of the regulars, Marinette and Alya reached the counter that Mrs. Dupain-Cheng was standing behind.

            “Hi mama! Is there anything I can help out with?” Marinette asked, slipping past the counter and reached for the aprons.

            “Hello sweetie. I think your father needs some help back in the kitchen, if you would. And Alya, would you please help me out here?” Sabine asked as she smiled at the next customer.

            The two friends split up and joined the Dupain-Cheng bakery team. In the kitchen, Tom and Marinette worked on the extremely delicate process of making their signature macarons. Behind the counter Sabine and Alya rushed around to get the orders for every customer. 

            Even though Marinette lived in her own apartment a little outside of Paris, she always came home for the weekend to take a break from her intern job and visit her old life. Many people after university couldn’t wait to get away from their families, but Marinette never felt that way. She always looked at her teenage years with a fond eye and never felt the need to run away from them. Plus, coming back to the bakery always reminded her of her special times of swinging off of her balcony into the night.

            Marinette brought out another batch of freshly made macarons and placed them in the display cabinet during a lull in the bakery. It was a little after lunch time where only the occasional customer would come in to grab a quick lunch before going back to work. Marinette was just rubbing some flour off of her forehead when the doorbell chimed. Mari glanced up and almost was glued to the spot. Out of all the people she expected to come through the bakery door, Adrien Agreste was one of the last. He looked almost exactly like when she last saw him, on graduation day, but with a much older and chiseled face. If she wasn’t careful, her old school blubbering self could reappear any minute. With slightly shaking hands, she smiled up at Adrien as he walked up to the counter. He smiled back, and then looked down at the delicious goods beside the counter with big eyes. _Wow, that was anticlimactic. Here I was waiting for this dramatic reunion, and he doesn’t even remember me_ , Marinette thought, rubbing the rest of the flour off of her hands and put on some gloves. “How can I help you today, Monsieur?” she asked kindly.

            Adrien’s head shot up and he stared at Marinette in shock. “Marinette?” he asked incredulously.

            “That is my name,” Marinette replied. Her cheeks were starting to get warm, but she dismissed it by blaming the ovens.

            “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I haven’t seen you for so long, I did not believe it was you!” Adrien exclaimed. “How are you? What’s life been like after university for you? Have you moved back to Paris? Or, I guess I’m just kind of wondering how you are, to sum it up,” Adrien gushed.

            In all the years Marinette had known him, she thought that she would never see him stumbling over his words in front of her. This thought made her cheeks turn into tomatoes, but she quickly tried to recover herself by just focusing on the questions themselves. “I, um, I’m doing well, thank you. I haven’t seen you in ages; how are you?”

            Adrien couldn’t stop smiling as he talked with Marinette. He really missed seeing her every day at university. “I’m doing well.” Adrien blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck.

            “Oh, I guess you probably want something to eat, don’t you. You didn’t come to the bakery just to socialize, I’m sure,” Marinette said after a nice, comfortable silence between the two, which was really just spent by looking into each other’s eyes.

            “I’ve already got his usual, sweetie,” Mrs. Dupain-Cheng said, popping out from behind Marinette, making her jump. “He comes here so often, I think I could make his usual upside down,” she joked, handing Adrien a bag of goodies. “Although I have to say, sometimes I think he comes just to hear about you,” Sabine added chuckling as both of the young adults blushed and looked anywhere but at each other.

            After the extremely awkward pause, Adrien scratched the back of his neck fervently and made his good byes. “Anyway…..It was really great to see you again, Mari. We should definitely meet up some time to catch up.” As Adrien was backing up to the door, he crashed into a table, almost making it fall over, but he quickly caught it and smiled sheepishly at Marinette. “I guess I’ll see you later! Have a good day Marinette!”

            Marinette nodded in reply. “Yeah, see Adrien around, you,” she called. “Uhh, I mean SEE YOU AROUND ADRIEN!” Marinette yelled frantically, as Adrien closed the door behind him.

            “Not much has changed, has it Mari?” Alya smiled cheekily around the corner of the kitchen.

            “Shut up, Alya,” Marinette muttered.

000

            That was one of the most stressful weekends Adrien had had in a very long while. First, meeting Marinette unexpectedly, which wasn’t that bad, but was still nerve wrecking. Then he went to meet his Dad for the first time in three months, and all hell broke loose. In the whole grand scheme of things, it could have gotten a lot worse. Then again it could have gone a lot better. All Adrien wanted to do was to take a nice and warm shower, then just settle down on the couch and watch some nice marvel movies. They weren’t nearly as complicated as his life at the moment. It seemed that his neighbor had the same thought.

            Adrien grabbed his phone and sidled into the bathroom. “Good evening, Kiki,” Adrien said as both of their showers turned on. “Long time no see, or rather….hear.”

            “What Trouble did you get into today?” replied Kiki. Adrien smiled.

            “Oh you know, getting yelled at in a grocery store for singing too loud; the usual,” Adrien joked.

            Kiki giggled from inside her shower. “Same.”  Adrien spread out his shampoos and razor and placed them in their proper places as Kiki asked, “alright what’s playing tonight, DJ?”

            Adrien scrolled through his songs on his phone and randomly picked one. “How about…” He squinted at his screen to read the small print, “Some Panic! At the Disco, huh?” The beginning vocals of “Victorious” started slowly.

            “Very good taste, DJ,” she replied, humming to the vocals. “Tonight we are Victorious. Champagne pouring over us. All my friends were glorious. Tonight we are Victorious!”

            Adrien took off his shirt and rubbed his face hard before joining into the song with the scream. “OH!!!”

            “Double, bubble, disco queen, headed to the guillotine. Skin as smooth as Steve McQueen, let me be your killer king” sang Adrien and Kiki. Adrien crawled into the shower and let his fringe flop over his face as they continued. “It hurts until it stops. We will love until it’s not. I’m a killing spree in white! Eyes like broken Christmas lights.” Adrien flipped back his hair and let the persona of the song wash over him. He smirked like Chat Noir as he let rip the next spew of lyrics.

            “My touch…..is black and poisonous……And nothing like my punch. Drunk. KissIknowyouneedit. Haveadrinkofwater,drinkofWINE!!!!!!!!!!” Like every usual night or morning for the two of them, they sang through one song, then a few more with so much gusto, they had surely woken up all of their neighbors.

            Adrien finished his shower first, but took his time getting ready for bed. The last song of the night popped on. Just like Kiki earlier, Adrien hummed the beginning cords of the duet, “Closer” by the Chainsmokers, featuring Halsey.

            “You have this song on your I-pod?” asked Kiki. “I wouldn’t have pinpointed you to liking this kind of song.”

            Adrien shrugged. “There are a lot of surprising songs on my I-pod. What you’ve heard of it has been barely an eighth of what’s actually on there. I have Disney, Queen, Popular, Classical, some country, and a whole lot of Christmas songs.”

            “Same,” Kiki replied, smiling. “I think everyone has the craziest combination of songs on their I-pod; it’s what makes them, them, I think. I also believe someone with just classical on their I-pod are just plain boring. They have got to have some sort of secret indulgence, like “My Heart Will Go On”, or the Naruto theme song on their playlist.”

            “That is a great guilty pleasure,” Adrien agreed. “I have that theme song as well as all the other best anime themes on my I-pod, if you’d like to hear those next.”

            “That would be great, but I’m afraid I won’t know many,” Kiki explained.

            “That’s alright. I’ll introduce you to them all!......ish.” Adrien declared. That got a small giggle out of Kiki. “But you know what?” Adrien continued.

            “Hmm?” Kiki hummed in reply.

            “Hey….I was doing just fine before I met you. I drink too much, and that’s an issue,…..but I’m ok.” Adrien smiled genuinely as he repeated the lines to the song, making Kiki get lost for a half of a second. “Hey….tell your friends it was nice to meet them, but I hope I never see them again.”

            “Well you must be the nicest guy in the universe,” Kiki joked, turning off her shower, and tried getting out all of the water out of her hair and failing miserably.

            “I know it breaks your heart. Moved to the city in a broke down car and…..four years no calls, now you’re looking pretty in a hotel bar and I, I, I, I, I….can’t stop. No I, I, I, I, I…..can’t stop.” As Adrien sang these words, for a brief moment, Adrien was reminded of Marinette. It had been four years since they had last even heard from each other, and Adrien definitely blamed himself for the fact that he never contacted her when he moved to London for a few years to study. Now when Adrien saw Marinette today, caked in flour, he couldn’t help the little bit of feelings that he had had, resurface. Marinette was just as beautiful, if not more beautiful than the last time he had seen her.

            “So baby, pull me closer in the backseat of your rover, that I know you can’t afford. Bite that tattoo on your shoulder. Pull the sheets right off the corner of the mattress that you stole…..from your roommate back in Boulder. We ain’t ever getting’ older.” With the drop of the base, Adrien dropped down to the floor and bounced back up, dancing like a sim from _The Sims_ PC game as he sprayed on his deodorant, skillfully missing his eye.

            On the other side of the wall Kiki could be heard dabbing as she knocked things over. In a few moments, both of them could be heard laughing their heads off as a result of hearing the other one dancing in such a drastic way that they were both knocking things over. “We ain’t ever gettin’ older.”

            “You……look as good as the day I met you. I forgot just why I left you. I was insane,” Kiki sang with her gem-like voice. “Stay. And play that Blink-182 song that we beat to death in Tucson,…….ok.”

            “I know it breaks your heart. Moved to the city in a broke down car and……four years no calls, now I’m looking pretty in a hotel bar and I, I, I, I, I….can’t stop…No I, I, I, I, I….can’t stop.”

            Now fully clothed, Adrien leaned against his sink, staring at the wall dividing them, and joined his voice with hers in the final chorus. “So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your rover that I know you can’t afford. Bite that tattoo on your shoulder Pull the sheets right off the corner of the mattress that you stole….from your roommate back in Boulder. We ain’t ever getting’ OLDER!”

            Kiki’s voice sky rocketed off, holding a perfectly matched pitch for as long as possible. Listening to the voice, Adrien tried to imagine who would have that voice. He imagined a short, but muscular young woman who loves girly skirts but also colorful jeans. He also imagined short, cropped hair that was red, or possibly dyed blue. Her eyes could possibly be brown, or green-ish blue, _or maybe bluebell colored eyes….wait_. Adrien internally screamed at himself. _I am imagining Ladybug. UGHHH! Get a hold of yourself man! It’s been like five years since she left you. She’s gone. Just stop IT!!_ Adrien ranted to himself. _Your neighbor is not Ladybug. Stop comparing Kiki to her; it’s unfair. Don’t start acting like your father_. As soon as the song ended, Adrien instantly changed to the next song; the Pokèmon theme song, and started to get ready to leave. Thinking about Ladybug instantly killed his happy mood, and Adrien just felt like sinking into a hole where the world could never touch him.

            “I think this is going to have to be the last song for the evening,” Adrien muttered, slamming the lid back on to his toothpaste can. “I really need to go to bed; it’s been a long day.” Adrien finished curtly, shutting off his phone as soon as the theme had ended.

            There was an awkward silence that hung between the two rooms, and Adrien was ready to punch himself for being the fault of another stupid situation. _Adrien, you need to calm down, If you leave it like this, you’re no better than your father_. Adrien slammed his fist onto the counter of the sink making Kiki squeak in surprise at the unexpected, harsh  noise.

            Adrien sighed deeply. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

            Starting in a weak voice, Kiki replied: “I’m sure it’s understandable. Do you want to talk about it? I know we’re not really friends or anything, but I’m a good ear. I like listening and helping. Or not….if you don’t want that,” Kiki rambled.

            Adrien shrugged. “I guess I don’t really care if you know. Probably the whole world already knows that I have Daddy issues.”

            “Well I don’t. Can you explain it to me?” Kiki asked kindly, and softly.

            “Well I visited my dad this weekend, just so we could check up on each other, but the meeting just turned into a lecture where my dad basically told me I was a disappointment to my dead mother and him. Of course that was a terrible thing for him to say, but of course I retaliated, screwing my life up even more by telling him that maybe the next time he sees me I’ll be just like him, playing with some crappy fabrics, yelling at anyone that gets close to me.”

            “So of course now is the time where I’m still so angry, but I’m wishing I had said nothing. I am also really sorry about bothering you about this. You don’t care at all what’s going on in my life.” Adrien moped. He fell against the wall to his shower, and let his body slide down the wall. Through the extremely flimsy wall, Adrien could feel warmth enter his body from the spot where he could tell Kiki was laying her hand against the wall.

            “I know this is a very trite thing to say, but everything’s going to be alright, and you’d better believe it. What I want you to do right now is march yourself into your living room and turn on your most favorite movie, grab your favorite snack and your most favorite blanket. I probably have never come close to feeling what you’re feeling right now, but I always know the only way to fix it is find something that makes you happy, and food and a movie are always the best way to start.”

            Adrien smiled weakly. “Alright, I shall follow your orders, Mademoiselle.”

            Kiki laughed in return. “Alright, now go and enjoy yourself, and if you ever need me to talk to, I’m only a knock away. Or a scream. Whichever comes first.”

            Adrien nodded. “K’ then. Thanks for the pep talk. See you tomorrow.”

            “Night Trouble,” Kiki replied.

            A few hours later, as Adrien was falling asleep in front of his TV, the doorbell rang. Outside, on the floor was a plate of cookies with a small note saying: **_Enjoy!- The Serial Killer Next Door :-)_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Here is the next chapter, I hope you liked it. Nothing much has changed between Marinette and Adrien, has it. I love these characters and trying to create depth to them. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. I really appreciate you guys reading my story. Until I write again, TTFN!


	4. Meeting You

            Marinette puckered her lips and gently pressed on the sweet, pink lipstick. She was dressed in poufy prom-like dress that was a gradient of dark purple to black with silver sequins scattered across it. Her hair was down, ready to be put up, and soft pop music was being played in the background from the previous year. It was New Years’ Eve, and Marinette’s apartment complex was having a masquerade New Years’ party in an hour or so. Marinette’s parents already had plans, and Alya and Nino were planning to have their own kind of date, so Marinette decided it was probably best if she went to her own New Years’ Party instead of being the awkward third wheel. Plus she had a chance to possibly see a certain someone at the party.

            No, she was not becoming obsessed with her neighbor by any stretch; she just wanted to get to know him better. For some reason, she did not want to meet him properly quite yet, and see his actual face. Yet she also felt the need to….well see his face without anything blocking the way. _It’s complicated_ , Marinette mumbled to herself. _It’s like getting to know someone online for several months, yet never wanting to actually meet them_ , Marinette reasoned to herself. _It’s perfectly normal. But at least it will be a little fun seeing him in person tonight, if he’ll come_. Marinette plugged in her curling iron and changed the song to “What Are You Doing New Years’ Eve” by O’Jays, and Marinette hummed to the beginning. From the other side of her shower wall, Marinette heard Trouble stumble into the bathroom and throw his heap of clothes on the floor and switch on the shower.

            “Afternoon Kiki,” Trouble said, jumping into the shower. “What ‘cha doing this New Years’ Eve? Partying? Sleeping? Going out?”

            Marinette grabbed a strand of her hair and wrapped it up in the curling iron. “Well, I’m planning to go to the party here tonight, I think. It sounds fun, doesn’t it? But if I wasn’t going to do that, I’d probably be sleeping,” Marinette replied. “You?”

            “I’m going as well, actually. Surprised?” Trouble asked.

            “I’m never really surprised with you, Trouble. You could honestly tell me that you were going to the moon tonight for a party, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all.” Marinette finished curling one side of her head and proceeded to do the other. Trouble had finished his quick shower and was already out.

            “So…what are you wearing tonight, so I can finally meet you?” he asked.

            “What am I wearing? That’s a very forward question, mister, but do you really want to meet me? I guess I’m not really going as anything. I’m just kind of wearing this bluish, blackish dress with a matching mask.” Marinette glanced at her mask sitting on a counter to her left. “You?”

            Trouble shrugged. “Well, I’m going to wear this purpley-plaid shirt from my da- I mean Gabriel Agreste’s line with a cat mask.”

            “Interesting combination. Do you like cats or something?”

            “Why wouldn’t you think that? My friends call me Catboy a lot of the time, and one of my friends is even convinced that I was born a cat,” Trouble answered with a smile in his voice. “Also, I seem to have cat fur constantly on me because of my cat.”

            “What’s your cat like,” Marinette asked.

            “An annoying prat named Plagg who is a black cat. And for some reason he really likes cheese, specifically the smelliest ones. Another plus to having a cat; you smell like one,” Trouble described. Exactly at that moment Marinette heard the cat yowl. “Speaking of the greedy little bastard,” Trouble growled at what Marinette presumed as the cat, as it hissed back. She laughed.

            Trouble breathed deeply, irritated at his cat. “Anyway,…” He paused to listen to the lyrics of the song, and he leaned against the wall as he sung. “Maybe it’s much…..too early in the game….but I thought I’d ask you just the same….”

            Marinette tilted her chin up and experimentally played with her soft curls, getting them in their correct places before sweeping half of it up as she joined him. “What are you doing New Year’s…..New Year’s Eve?”

            “Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight…..When it’s exactly twelve o’clock at night!” Trouble sang back, pulling on the last of his clothes. “Welcoming in…the New Year.”

            “New Year’s….Eve.” Marinette pulled on a pair of sparkly blue pumps and slid on her mask. “Maybe I’m crazy to suppose…I’d ever be the one you chose…..One of the thousand invitations you! Received!”

            “Oh just in case…I stand one little chance.” Trouble knocked on the wall separating them, and Marinette hummed in response. “HERE COMES THE JACKPOT…..QUESTION in advance!”

            “What are you doing New Year’s……….New Year’s Eve.” Silence filled the space between them as the song ended, and Marinette waited for whatever he wanted to say.

            “Would you mind meeting me outside your door in five?” Trouble asked with what seemed like confidence, but Marinette could detect a nervous warble in his voice.

            Marinette smiled secretly, shying away from her reflection. “Well if trouble’s knocking at my door, I guess I don’t really have choice.”

            Trouble opened and closed his bathroom door, leaving Marinette alone. Her once giddy insides had turned to lead, and she stood shaking in front of her mirror. “Tikki?” Marinette whispered anxiously.

            A red ball of light floated through the wall into the bathroom. The ball of light morphed into a little ladybug kind of thing. “Tikki? What am I going to do? I’m actually going to meet him! What am I supposed to do? How should I act? Should I leave him waiting for a little bit, or should I be a little late?” Marinette had resorted to her fifteen year-old self and Tikki was gently petting her cheek. As Marinette continued to ramble, Tikki put a small hand on Marinette’s mouth.

            “Calm down, Mari. Just act like yourself, and everything will be fine. There’s nothing to be worried about. Just have fun.” Tikki calmed Marinette down. Tikki left a little kiss on Marinette’s cheek and gently guided her out of the bathroom towards her front door. “You can do it Marinette! Just go for it!” Before Marinette could react, Tikki had opened her front door and threw her into the hallway, right into her neighbor.

            Strong arms wrapped around Marinette’s middle, holding her up. Marinette’s head was smashed against a purple button up that in turn was stretched across a toned stomach. Marinette turned beet red as she realized what trouble she had fallen into.

            “Woah there,” a kind, low voice whispered. A nice warm laugh accompanied this sentence as he pulled Marinette back onto her feet. Marinette looked up and stared into bright green eyes behind a black cat mask. Marinette got a jolt of Deja-Vu as she stared at a boy behind a black mask. Marinette shook herself internally and brought herself back into reality, which wasn’t much better in her mind.

            “There you go,” he whispered. His face stared down at her and a mop of blond hair that had once been brushed back, now fell into his eyes in a handsome manner. “Let me guess….you’re Kiki?” His eyes crinkled in a wry smile, and Marinette fought to not break out into a ginormous, giddy smile.

            “More like clumsy.” Marinette blushed a little and beat back the rest of the blush that threatened to invade her whole face. She took a step back out of Trouble’s arms and let her back fall against the closed door as she took in the sight of her neighbor.

            He was as handsome as most people she had met, but almost exactly as she had imagined him while they had been singing in the shower. Trouble grinned at her attention and did a little twirl. “Like what you see?” he asked cheekily.

            Marinette laughed. “The face is a nice addition.”

            Trouble smiled. “Yeah, you too. It’s nice seeing the face of an otherwise floating voice.”

            They smiled at each other for a little while longer, then Trouble held out an arm to Marinette. “Care to join me?”

            Marinette laid her hand gently on his arm as they made their way to the entry hall of the apartment complex.

            It was a simply decorated room with people from almost every apartment there. In the middle of the room was a small stage with a couple standing on it, singing in an interesting key. Streamers were everywhere, and balloons were scattered across every open surface. Everyone had a mask on, and everyone was enjoying themselves.

            Marinette and Trouble went directly to the food table together and grabbed some snacks. In the background a boy was singing “Can’t Stop the Feeling” in French and both Trouble and Marinette sung softly to it. They chose some seats off to the side, and Marinette turned towards Trouble. “So… How are you?”

            “Good.” Was all Trouble could say. They sat in silence as they struggled to come up with a conversation starter, but none came to mind. So they sat awkwardly side by side, looking at the people that passed them.

            Marinette was seriously reconsidering going to this party when a clearly drunken man stumbled into their laps. “Hey guys…. Buddies!!”He screeched. Marinette could tell he was the guy from a few floors below her and he was constantly getting himself, or others, into trouble.

            “You know,” the drunken man suddenly whispered. “…..now don’t tell anyone about thhhhis,” he giggled. “I signed you two up for the next song.”  He giggle one last time before collapsing on the floor. Marinette and Trouble’s eyes met; both horrified. The guy singing in French had ended his song and both Marinette and Trouble tried desperately to find a way out of the hall, but the DJ suddenly sprung up by their sides and pulled them on stage.

            “You’ll thank me for this later,” He quaffed as he gave two microphones to the two petrified young adults. “Have fun!”

            Marinette stood stock still. It had been about five months at least since she and Trouble had started singing together in the shower, but somehow this situation was very different. _Of course it’s different, you dingbat! You’re in front of a whole group of people that will definitely judge you till the day you move out. God I hope it’s a song I know,_ Marinette thought to herself.

            Marinette looked up at the karaoke screen and saw the words “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by Meghan Trainor, scroll across the screen. _Only a little bit of relief. I know this song. Halleluiah!_ She took a deep breath as the beginning cord sprang through the air.

            “I found myself dreaming….In silver and gold! Like a scene from a movie….that every. Broken. Heart. Knows….” Marinette stole a glance at Trouble and she saw him smiling a little at her, and she quickly returned the smile. “We were walking on moonlight, and you pulled me close!” Marinette closed her eyes and instantly saw a familiar cat mask sitting next to her at the highest peak in all of Paris. “Split second and you disappeared and I. Was all. Alone…I woke up in tears…with you by my side! A breath of relief and I realized……NO…we’re not promised tomorrow.” Her eyes snapped open before her mind could conjure up any terrible images as she came to the chorus.

            “So I’m gonna love! You……like I’m gonna lose you….. I’m gonna hold. You. Like I’m saying goodbye! Wherever we’re standing… I won’t take you for granted….Cause we’ll never know…when…when we’ll run out of time! So I’m gonna love you...Like I’m gonna lose you….I’m gonna love you…Like I’m gonna lose you.” Marinette took a deep breath and looked towards her friend to her right.

            Like she had done earlier, Trouble had closed his eyes as he started to sing. “In the blink of an eye….Just a whisper of smoke….You! Could lose everything…The truth is you never known……” Trouble cautiously opened his eyes and peered at Marinette.

            “So I’ll kiss you longer babe….Any chance that I get…I’ll make the most of the minutes…and love with no regrets. Let’s take our time… to say what we want…Use what we’ve got before it’s all gone…….cause no……….We’re not promised tomorrow.” Trouble sang with such truth, Marinette almost missed where she was supposed to come in.

            Their voices, joined together perfectly, and for once without backup singers as they sang the chorus. It was just the two of them. The microphones that they held were uncorded and so the two of them danced with one another, getting closer and closer. Soon enough only their masks stood between them.

            The bridge rolled along and the whole room became quiet as they watched the two. “I’m gonna love you……Like I’m gonna…..Lose….you…..I’m gonna….HOLD YOU! Like I’m saying Goodbye!!!!! WHEREVER WE’RE STANDING! I won’t take you for granted!..... Cause we’ll never know when….When we’ll run out of time……. So I’m gonna love you….Like I’m gonna lose. You……I’m gonna love you…..Like. I’m. Gonna…….Lose…You….” Trouble and Marinette’s breaths twisted together, and the crowd erupted into enormous, drunk cheers.

            For several hours after that, the tension had broken, and Trouble and Kiki became quick friends talking about things they had never talked about before. They had eventually left the party in favor for walking around Paris. They were currently walking lazily down the Champs-Elysees as they talked about their aspirations, their hobbies, favorite foods, favorite colors, and even favorite types of socks.

            “Yeah, I really like knee-high socks; they keep me warm,” Trouble tried to explain.

            Marinette laughed at the ridiculousness. “But how can you stand it falling down your leg? Ankle socks are far superior.”  

Trouble gaffed. “Come on. Ankle socks? They crumple up in your shoes constantly. You can never get them to stay on your feet!”

            Marinette poked Trouble’s chest. “That’s why you get the right length. They have to reach just past your ankles for the best fit.”

            Trouble laughed and raised his hands up in surrender. “Alrighty then. We’ll agree to disagree.” Since Marinette was still staring him down, he added: “But for tonight I must agree. Ankle socks are by far superior to knee highs.”

            “Better,” Marinette commented; smiling. The two had ended up at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower at the edge of an enormous crowd. Marinette glanced at her phone and saw that it was about fifteen minutes before midnight. “Wow, it’s almost that time already?”

            Trouble looked over her shoulder at her phone. “Wow we’ve been outside for nearly two hours!” He took a look down at Marinette’s bare shoulders that were turning a little blue. “Aren’t your shoulders cold?”

            Marinette shrugged. “I didn’t notice how cold I was getting, I guess.” Trouble shrugged off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

            “There. Now you should be warmer.”

            Marinette blushed a little, but blamed it on the jacket’s heat; it warmer her up quickly and completely. “Thank you,” she said, fumbling a little bit with her hands.

            Trouble and Marinette stayed in the group under the Eiffel tower a bit with the Parisians and some tourists. They soon got deep in conversation again, and the minutes sped by quickly. Soon enough it was about a minute before midnight, and Trouble trained his eyes on the skin just below Marinette’s glittery mask. A sweet song played in the background, and Trouble felt the mood shift a little.

            Marinette, in turn, took her own glances up at the boy’s face, trying to see behind his mask. For some reason the atmosphere of this New Year’s Eve made Marinette want to try something new.

            The famous count down to the New Year began and they nervously turned towards each other. “Dix, neuf, huit, sept, six, cinq….., quatre…..trois, deux……UN, BONNE ANNÉE !”

            “Bonne Année,” Marinette wished to Trouble.

            “Et toi, Kiki.” Trouble replied with tenderness in his voice. He leaned in a little bit, and moved to lift Marinette’s mask a little bit so he could access the softness of her cheek.

            Marinette turned redder and redder as he got closer; his eyes trained on hers, asking for permission. She closed her eyes in response and his lips brushed against her cheek. Trouble had almost slipped Marinette’s mask off when a high pitched scream and an explosion pierced the air. Both Marinette and Adrien whorled away from each other, looking up at the sky for the answer to the disturbance.

            After so many years, both Adrien and Marinette, as well as the rest of Paris, realized that they were no longer safe. Hawkmoth seemed to have never left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! This is a kind of weird chapter, but I thought it would be a fun trope to write about. New Years always seems like a mysterious night for me. It is a start of a mysterious night with full of surprises. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	5. Déjà vu

            Adrien was startled by a strange noise, and he woke with a start. As he did so he struggled to get out of the drowning waves of his bed. Sirens blared from police cars on the street below and Adrien’s face crinkled in confusion. _This can’t actually be happening. It was just a dream….right??_ Adrien staggered onto his little balcony outside of his apartment he saw a bright, red hue flashing in the distance accompanied with the screams of civilians. “This can’t be happening,” he whispered. He shook his head as his stomach plummeted. Adrien let go of the railing to his balcony and ran towards his bathroom. He lurched towards his toilet and clung on as the claws of a nightmare scratched its way out of his memory. Adrien stood up and wiped his mouth as he shakily flushed the toilet.

            As if through a trance, Adrien stumbled into his living room to see the New Year’s celebration near the Eiffel Tower ending as people started to flee in every direction as a response to the attack. “Plagg?” Adrien called out weakly, pulling on a shirt. Plagg flew quickly to Adrien’s shoulder at the sound of his voice and nuzzled up against his neck.

            “It’s ok, Kid; we’ll sort this out. Are you ready to transform?” Plagg asked, comforting Adrien as much as he could. Adrien nodded his head and smiled at Plagg weakly. “Claws out,” Adrien whispered.

            As soon as he was covered by the green light and the flexible spandex, Adrien immediately felt trapped. Before he could get freak out, Adrien counted to ten and breathed in and out slowly. He thought of croissants tulips, his mother’s comforting embrace, and even his New Year’s dream with Kiki. Soon he felt in control again, and Chat Noir jumped off of his balcony and into the night.

            The night was brisk and snow was dancing off of the roofs of Paris. Chat Noir ran on all fours, jumping form building to building. Below, people were still running down the streets, even though the magical villain was several blocks away. The only human not moving on the street was one little girl who was crumpled in a ball at the corner of the street, choking her teddy bear in her arms. Chat jumped down from his view point and landed a few feet away from the little girl. The girl looked up at him with fearful eyes as he came closer. She flinched when he reached out to touch her.

            ‘Hey, hey, it’s alright. I’m not here to hurt you,” Chat whispered gently. I’m here to help you.” Chat held out his hands in a peaceful way, inviting the little girl to come near him. The girl unwrapped herself from her ball and crawled closer to Adrien. One of her tiny little hands reached out towards his face. Adrien bent his head and let her tiny, little hands pet his ears. He let out a little purr and the girl giggled. she then reached up, asking to be picked up.

            “Where are your parents, little one?” Chat asked quietly, holding the toddler close to his chest, looking left and right, hoping to find a parent in the crowd. She lifted up one finger and pointed to the left, down an alley. “Home,” she said simply. Chat Noir took off quickly, following her directions. Her head rested on his chest as they ran from street to street. An explosion erupted far away, near the Eiffel tower just as Chat found the little girl’s house. Chat quickly knocked on the door. A worried father opened the door and grabbed his child out of Chat’s arms.

            “Thank you so much. I didn’t know where she was, and I was worried sick!” The father kissed his daughter’s forehead just as another explosion sounded. Chat Noir glanced behind him nervously and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Thank you Chat Noir, but I think you’re needed elsewhere.”

            Chat Noir nodded his head to the father in thanks, then sprinted off and jumped onto the nearest roof and headed towards the Eiffel tower.

            Surprisingly after years of being out of the job, Adrien was able to get to the Eiffel tower in record time.

            The scene that he was met with was absolute hell. The a villain was an akuma from Adrien’s past. It was on top of the tower screaming to all of the civilians, waving his phone and spraying blood, red light into the crowd. Chat Noir jumped stealthily into a group of trees and crawled to the base of the Eiffel tower. As Chat started to climb up the rungs of the tower, he kept his senses alert for any danger…or for his partner in crime. He knew it was no use because it had been years, and not good ones. They had not left each other well, but he still wanted to hope. Adrien paused as memories of blood mixed with a red and black suit. He pushed the memory away as he pushed on. _She won’t come. Move on, Adrien._

            Chat landed right behind the akuma without it noticing. With his cat-like eyes he spied the phone and knew that that was where the akuma as hiding. Chat wasn’t sure how he was going to purify it, but he knew he could destroy the akuma’s curse. It would be a piece of cake. Whoever this new villain was, he didn’t know how to create akumas very well. Chat bunched his muscles together and pounced. The akuma turned around in surprise and flinched as Chat wrapped his arms around the akuma and called for his cataclysm. In a few moments the akuma victim was freed and the butterfly flew into the sky.

            Adrien placed the akuma victim in a safe place before leaping after the butterfly to catch it in his fist. He felt the flutters against his palm, asking him to release it, but he held strong. Chat’s ears twitched as he picked up the noise of someone sneaking up behind him. With a quick flip of his ankle he tripped up the person behind him and spun around to catch him in a head lock. Adrien’s heart stopped.

            Those blue-black pigtails. Those bluebell eyes. That red and black spotted…”Ladybug?” Adrien breathed. The eyes blinked and stared up into his, but other than that she remained motionless. Chat loosened his grasp and let Ladybug stumble out of his grip and far away from him. Her chest heaved as her lungs struggled to regain their lost oxygen. She held out a simple hand, clothed in the spandex-like fabric of their suits, and Adrien placed the butterfly in her palm. Barely looking at him, Ladybug did her job and cleansed the akuma, sending it into the atmosphere of Paris. Ladybug’s eyes traveled the flight of the little butterfly until it danced out of her sight. Then with a steady turn of her head, her gaze landed on Chat. Her eyes rendered him practically naked like it always had. Chat stayed perfectly still, allowing them each to take in the situation.

            Painfully slow, Ladybug pulled her lips back showing the tiniest sliver of teeth. The skin around her eyes crinkled in a smile, and then all of a sudden she had run into Chat’s arms, squeezing him tight against her chest. Instinctually, Chat wrapped his arms around Ladybug’s waist as he returned the deep hug. Ladybug nuzzled up against his neck, whispering: “You’re alive. You’re alive…….You’re alive.” Chat whispered the same phrase as he tightened his embrace so he could twirl Ladybug around in the air. The two superheroes beamed at each other as they twirled around on a roof at about half past two.

            Chat Noir lowered his companion to the ground and gave her one tighter hug before separating himself from her a little bit, yet still maintaining contact through a hand. “You’re alive,” Chat whispered back.

            “Yeah,” Ladybug whispered back. “We’re both going to be alright.”

            “Yeah,” Chat repeated, looking into Ladybug’s eyes.

            “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked quietly. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

            Chat just shook his head. “I haven’t seen you in five and a half years. I’m looking at you like I’ve seen a ghost because I am. I thought you had died….. I think we both thought the worst… at the time.” Ladybug just nodded her head as a response. “That last battle…..it tore everything apart. I remember being shocked that Plagg still had some powers after the last battle…..with you gone…”

            “If I had died, along with my kawami, you would not have any powers at all. In my case, I believed you had died… and someone had taken your place……I thought I had lost my kitten forever…” Ladybug whispered. Chat placed the hand, that was not holding hers, to her cheek. He quickly pulled away, but he could tell Ladybug took comfort from his touch. “And now Hawkmoth has come back…” she finished weakly.

            Chat hugged Ladybug then drew away from her again to show her his battle stance, which he hoped would make her laugh. “But we took him down before, I’m sure we can do it again…. As the Cat and the Bug…..Together again.” Chat drew closer to Ladybug again and whispered, “It doesn’t matter if the whole world is out to get us. Right now, I only care about how this is the best I’ve felt for a while. I’ve never been better in all of my nine lives, than right now.” Ladybug smiled shyly up at him, then punched him affectionately in the stomach.

            “We’re back, and that’s all Paris and I need right now.” Ladybug added.

            As Ladybug and Chat Noir stood on a peaceful roof in the middle of Paris in the middle of the night, a whispering wind blew around them and cackled as it flew back to its home. The wind was followed by the single, purified akuma, singing happily through the sky.

000

            Marinette flopped onto her rose colored sofa and smiled uncontrollably up at the ceiling. She had been happy in the past few years, but this broke the barrier; she had her chaton back. The fear and the worry of their past meeting had haunted her for so many years, but now in a way it was solved. But with the answers came other questions. _Like our new villain._ Marinette bounced off of the cushion and waltzed towards the bathroom, grabbing her iPod on her way. Clicking a random song, she flew into the shower, delighting in the constant repetition of water droplets drumming on her back.

            A peppy violin melody blared from Marinette’s phone’s speakers and played the beginning cord of “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit. “We’re a thousand miles from comfort. We have traveled land and sea, but as long as you are with me, there’s no place I’d rather be….”

            “I would wait forever….exulted in the scene…. As long as I am with you, my heart continues to beat.” Marinette scrubbed her hair vigorously with her scented soap and dreamed about seeing her best friend again, but also of her dream that she had had of her neighbor last night. It had been a big start for the year so far. She didn’t know what it told her about her future, but she knew it meant something, or she wouldn’t have the feeling of anticipation. She also wouldn’t have the annoying skips in her heartbeat, but that was irrelevant. Marinette started singing louder and louder till she couldn’t hear anyone on the other side of the wall. She just happened to miss the sound of someone coming into the bathroom on the other side

            “With every step we take, Kyoto to the bay; strolling so casually…” Marinette grabbed her soap and washed behind her ears, making a slight squeaking noise. On the reverse side of the wall, Trouble began singing along; making Marinette squeak in alarm. She had thought her neighbor would still be in bed since it was only four in the morning on New Year’s Day. _He may have heard the akuma attack or just came home from it? I doesn’t matter anyway,_ she thought.

            “We’re different and the same. Gave you another name, switch up the batteries,” the two of them sang. Neither seemed to be in the mood to converse, but they seemed to enjoy the company.

            As the song progressed, the lyrics hit home for Marinette and she briefly compared Chat Noir to the song. As a pair, Ladybug and Chat Noir seemed so different, yet they still complimented each other. Chat brought bad luck and destruction, while she brought good luck and construction. They were two sides of one coin; salt and pepper; pancakes and syrup; cat and bug. Marinette knew it sounded so cheesy, but she truly believed they were the best fit, especially as friends.

            “If you gave me a chance I would take it. It’s a shot in the dark, but I’ll make it. Know with all of your heart, you can’t shame me. When I am with you, there’s no place I’d rather be.” Marinette momentarily thought about Chat’s arms wrapping around her waist and hoisting her up, above his shoulders. There was truly no other place Marinette had wished to be in that moment. All of her old memories had come back to haunt her, but he seemed the only stable one, and the only one that could possibly understand the situation. They had gone through everything together, and had always supported each other no matter what. Marinette realized how much she had taken for granted when she found she could no longer call on him. _Those were a lonely set of years…_

            Marinette turned off her shower head and let her iPod choose the next song. The breathy voices of Maroon 5 sang the opening lyrics of “Sugar” sang from her speakers.

            As Trouble started to sing the first verses, Marinette decided to let him have a solo with this song. “I’m hurting baby; I’m broken down. I need your loving, loving I need it now….When I’m without you, I’m something weak. You got me begging begging; I’m on my knees.”

            Marinette laughed a little at the thought of Chat kneeling down before her, purring the lines of this song to her feet. For a brief second Marinette thought about the possibility that her next door neighbor was Chat. _He certainly has the yowling down,_ Marinette thought as Trouble tried and failed to reach the falsetto notes in the chorus.

            “SUGAR!!! YES PLEASE!!! Won’t you COME AND PUT IT DOWN ON ME!! I’m RIGHT HERE    !... ‘CAUSE I NEED! LITTLE LOVE, A LITTLE SYMPATHY!!!”

            As soon as the thought of Chat’s identity popped into Marinette’s head, she dismissed it. _That would be ridiculous._

            “My broken pieces… you pick them up… Don’t leave me hanging, hanging, come give me some. When I’m without you,… I’m something weak…you are the one thing, one thing I’m living for,” Trouble sang quietly, almost like he was closing his eyes and thinking about the lyrics as well.

            Marinette put on some bright blue and pink pastel pajamas to enjoy New Year’s day in. She had the full intention of camping out in front of the TV all day, hopefully falling asleep in front of it. God knows she needed some sleep after that akuma attack, especially after the emotional rollercoaster of seeing her partner again.

            “SUGAR! YES, PLEASE! Won’t you COME AND PUT IT DOWN ON ME! I’m RIGHT HERE!….’Cause I NEED! Little LOVE, a LITTLE SYMPATHY! Yeah, you SHOW ME GOOD LOVING, MAKE it ALRIGHT! NEED a little sweetness IN my life.”

            “SUGAR! YES, PLEASE! Won’t you COME AND PUT IT DOWN ON ME?!” Trouble shut off his shower and let the rest of the water drain out of the tub as the song came to an end. Marinette brushed out her short, black hair as she listened to both the sound of Trouble getting into his clothes and the slow start of another song. Trouble startled her as he suddenly struck up a conversation.

            “So how was your New Year’s eve? Eventful or…?” Trouble asked.

            Marinette shook herself and thought back at her night and laughed a little to herself. “Well I was going to stay up and watch New Year’s celebrations on the TV, but I’m afraid I got nap attacked.”

            “Such an unfortunate thing sometimes, isn’t it,” Trouble added. “The same thing happened to me, but I’m afraid I got woken up by the akuma attack. Did you hear about it?” He asked.

            Marinette nodded her head. “Yeah I heard about it. My friend actually woke me up the second she knew it was happening. She used to research everything for Ladybug and Chat Noir back in the day. To this day she still keeps tabs on everything in the news so she can be the first to report on the returning superheroes. Sometimes she just goes crazy with calling me with all of her new theories. She’s so sweet though. Anyways, she pulled me out of my apartment right after midnight. We lost each other in the humungous crowd, and I decided to come home after I couldn’t find her, and I ended up here.”

            “Wow, you’re a more dedicated friend than I am. I would have just let my friend fend for himself if they wanted to wake me up at midnight. I think one of my best friends, Nino, has learned that the hard way,” Trouble added with a laugh.

            “Nino?” Marinette pause what she was doing. Nino Lahiffe?”

            There was a little hesitation in Trouble’s voice as he answered. “Yeah? What about him?”

            Marinette turned back to brushing her hair, and then she started to braid it. “Oh, it’s nothing. I just….I knew him when I was in school…that’s all.”

            Trouble was silent for a bit. “So do you believe we actually know each other?” He asked quietly.

            Marinette looked at the wall of her shower through her mirror. “I guess I am…saying that.”

            The two of them were quiet for a while, doing their own little thing. Marinette took this time to think about the small lie she had just told her neighbor. She had indeed been called by Alya and had been dragged down the street on a hunt to find Ladybug and Chat Noir. But she had not been woken by the call, but the sound of her neighbor retching and the crashes of an akuma outside of her apartment.

            “Are you doing alright?” Marinette asked tentatively. Trouble dropped what sounded like a can of deodorant, and he coughed uncomfortably.

            “Uh, yeah…yeah! I’m fine!” He said in a high-pitched voice.

            “You sure?” Marinette asked again. “I’m not meaning to be invasive or anything, but I, uh,….I heard you puking when I woke up, and I was wondering if you were doing alright?”

            Trouble sighed. “Yeah, that…I think I just ate something bad before I went to bed. It’s nothing. Honestly, I only care about how this is the best I’ve felt for a while. I’ve never been better in all of my nine lives than right now.”

            Marinette dropped her hair brush and she blacked out. _Chat said that earlier. He can’t possibly be Chat. Then why did he say nine lives? Maybe he just has a cat thing…Have I gone insane???_

“Kiki?” Trouble asked, worried. “Kiki?”

            Marinette pulled herself out of the darkness and responded with a croak. “Yeah, sorry…blacked out there for a second…What did you say?” Marinette could hear Trouble gulp.

            “I said that….right now I feel the best I ever have in…my life.”

            Marinette took a deep breath. “That’s what I thought you said, cool…Same...This is the best I’ve felt for a very long time too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Here is some of the backstory that you guys wanted! Kind of. :-) I like how with this story I can write fluff but also add some plot to it. So many interesting things to play with! Thank you for reading, it really means a lot to me. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	6. Old Friends

            Marinette slammed the front door shut and heaved a heavy sigh as she leaned against her closed door. “Ughh! I am so done with today!” Marinette threw her bulky purse onto her red armchair. She picked at her wet clothes and growled. Her office uniform was covered in paint, vomit, and water from the downpour that she had found herself in. She angrily typed her password into her phone and scrolled through her apps. Tikki wisely flew out of Marinette’s purse and chose to seek refuge in the kitchen. It was probably best if Marinette had a little time to herself, Tikki decided.

Pulling up iTunes, Marinette tapped on her ‘Don’t Give a Crap’ playlist and stomped into her bathroom. She plugged her speakers into the headphone jack of her phone and turned up the volume all of the way up. The synthetic strums of a guitar and drum beat assaulted Marinette’s ears, but she smiled blissfully nonetheless. She let her hair down from its tight bun and let her black hair curl around her shoulders. She breathed a sigh as she opened her mouth to belt out the words to ‘Give You Hell’ by American Rejects; a song that could make the crappiest of moods run for the high hills.

            “I wake up every evening… with a big smile on my face…And it never feels out of place!” Marinette turned on her facet to the highest level and let her bathroom steam up as she took off her soaked clothes and stepped into the scalding water. “And you’re still probably working… at a nine to five place. I wonder how bad that tastes!” Marinette cried, scraping the follicles of her hair back against her skull. The heavy beat of the water on her back washed away the remnants of the day, and leaving clear streaks of clean skin in its trail.

            “When you see my face, hope it gives you hell. When you walk my way, I hope it Gives you hell…Hope it gives you hell!” Marinette sang, squirting an enormous amount of shampoo onto her palm. On the other side of the wall to her shower, Trouble ran into the bathroom and yelled something that could not be heard over the blaring music. Marinette’s loud music finally reached others in the apartment building as Trouble knocked on the wall between their bathrooms to get her attention.

            “Hey Kiki, you doing alright?” Trouble yelled over the insanely loud music.

            Kiki reached a wet hand out other shower to turn down her music a little bit. “What?!” she bellowed.

            “I WAS WONDERING WHY YOU HAVE YOUR MUSIC SO LOUD!” He hollered back.

            “Oh, sorry.” Marinette turned down her music a little more before returning the hand into the warm, wet shower. “Today was absolute crap, so I just decided to drown out my worries with screaming, sorry.”

“That’s fine, it’s just not your normal thing, so I just wanted to check up on you,” was Trouble’s reply. “What happened, if I may ask?”

“ Well I work as one of the fashion designers for Gabriel Agreste. That’s pretty self-explanatory by itself.” she explained. “But today he yelled at me because I wasn’t doing anything right and that I was just lazy; which I’m not. I _am_ the hardest working of any of his designers, and the fact that he can’t see that just gets me so ANGRY!” Marinette vented. “And well I took that anger out on him, which led to me storming out, tripping on paint, getting vomited on by a sick intern, and forced to walk home in the pouring rain. So that was fun,” Marinette finished sarcastically.

            “That does sound fun,” Trouble replied, equally as sarcastic as Marinette. “At least you’re home now, and as far away from Gabriel Agreste as possible. He’s a crap person most of the time, so don’t listen to anything he says” Trouble agreed. “He is so self-centered and irritating. One day he will be a true villain, and the next he may be as supportive as Ladybug. He is so hard to love sometimes…I mean…um, I don’t know how he had that nice son of his.” Trouble coughed a little before starting his own shower.

            “Adrien Agreste?” Marinette asked, smiling a little. “Yeah he is nice, isn’t he? Much nicer than his father. I don’t know how he survived that hell house, but I guess you get used to it I mean, you would if it was family. I mean look at me; I’m going back to work tomorrow and beg for Mr. Agreste’s forgiveness. You kind of need to deal with those people to find the good people.”

            “You are totally right. The only difference between those two relationships is that you are the one getting paid to come back. Adrien doesn’t really get anything...” Trouble said

Marinette shook her head. “Adrien gets love; he must. And that would make me want to come back more than money would. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Right? Mr. Agreste must be capable of giving some love?

            “Not much,” Trouble muttered.

            Marinette’s ears picked Trouble’s words up, and Marinette had to shake away the thoughts. _Trouble can’t be two guys at the same time, Brain. We’ve already been through this, Trouble is not Chat Noir, and he certainly is not Adrien Agreste._

“Gives You Hell” played on in the background as the two of them continued with their showers. The music was at a more pleasant volume as the two sung along, letting the words take away the pressures on their shoulders. “Now you’ll never see…what you’ve done to me. You can take back your memories they’re no good to me.”

            “And here’s all your lies; you can’t look me in the eyes with that sad, sad look that you wear so well!” A chorus of stomping feet and clapping hands were made as Marinette and Trouble screamed out the next stream of words: “When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell; hope it gives you hell. When you find a man that’s worth a damn and treats you hell… Then he’s a fool you’re just as well; hope it GIVES YOU HELL!”

            “When you hear this song and you sing along, but you never tell. Then you’re a fool, I’m just as well, hope it gives you HELL…when you hear this song, I hope that it will treat you well!... You can sing along. I hope that it puts you through…Hell.” They finished letting their voices die out along with the music. Below them and old lady was hitting her ceiling with her broom yelling: “TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN! I’M TRY’IN TO TAKE A NAP! YOU YOUNG’UNS!”

            Marinette quickly jumped out of her shower and turned down the volume almost all of the way. Flushed, she replied: “Sorry Madame Navet. I’m turning it down now.” Marinette sheepishly crawled back into her shower. It was silent for a few moments before both Marinette and Trouble started giggling uncontrollably. Another early 2000s song rolled onto the screen of Marinette’s phone and started to play a heavy, electric guitar riff. Trouble and Marinette settled into their personal shower routines as the angelic voice of Patrick Stump rang from the speakers.

            “Say my name and his in the same breath. I dare you to say they taste the same. Let the leaves fall off in the summer and let December glow in flames.” Marinette sang.

            “Erase myself and let go…Start it over again in Mexico…THESE. FRIENDS! THEY DON’T LOVE YOU! THEY JUST LOVE THE HOTEL SUITES! NOW!” Trouble sang back.

            “I. DON’T. CARE what you think, as long as it’s about me…The best of us can find happiness in mis…ery.” The two of them sang with gusto, ignoring the continued beatings of their floor by Madame Navet.

            “I. DON’T. CARE what you think …as long as it’s about me. The best of us can find happiness in Mi…………sery!” Marinette let her head fall back and sang even louder. Trouble tried singing louder and higher, but was failing miserably, and Marinette smiled at his efforts. Unfortunately their karaoke time was over.

A blaring, beeping sound shrieked over the sound of the Fall Out Boy song, and Marinette stopped what she was doing to turn of the facet of her shower. The beeps only got louder, and they made Marinette hold her hands to her ears to try and block some of the noise out.

            “Is that the fire alarm?” Trouble asked, turning off his facet as well.

            Marinette climbed out of her shower and frantically started to track down something to cover her. “Yeah, I think it is. It could have chosen a better time though,” Marinette said in frustration. ‘Where the heck is my towel? And my clothes?” Only then did she remember that her clothes were currently covered in vomit. Not the best option at the moment.

            Trouble seemed to find his towel by the sound of him falling over some of his stuff in his bathroom. He called back to her as he opened his window. ‘Forget about a towel right now, Kiki. This might actually be a real fire, so you need to get out as soon as possible.”

            “Don’t talk to me about no towel! How would you like to go out in public with nothing on but your birthday suit? Would you like to meet our land lord like that?!” Marinette yelled back. Marinette only heard the stuttering of Trouble’s voice, and she nodded her head in irritation. “That’s what I thought. Now you better be off or you’ll be on fire as much as I will,” And with that, Trouble crawled out of his window and onto the fire escape. Marinette would have done the same thing except she had no towel and her window did not lead to the fire escape. The only access to the fire escape in her apartment was from her small balcony on the other side of her apartment. It looked like she would have to go down the stairs like most people in the building. It was a good thing she could not smell any smoke yet. If this was anything but a drill, Marinette was sure she would have died by now.

            Finally finding a towel, Marinette quickly wrapped it around herself, grabbed her phone, and bolted out her door. The lyrics of “I Don’t’ Care” blared from Marinette’s speakers, and she desperately tried not to look directly into anyone’s eyes. Tactfully ignoring the weird stares she got as she raced down the stairs, Marinette held her towel in one hand while the other was frantically trying to turn off the song. It was quite comical to see a girl clad only in a towel, racing down the stairs with a phone in her hands. _Sadly this is not my lowest moment,_ Marinette thought to herself. If Marinette was not as caught up in this situation, she would have loved to hide in a bush and cry her eyes out. But she could not, so she focused on getting to a safe place outside of the apartment building.

When she reached the cold, evening air, she was finally able to turn off the music after jabbing her phone screen several times with each finger. Marinette looked up and noticed how everyone in the apartment building was outside and staring at her. A single mother stood with her two young boys, all in aprons covered with flour. They stood there with wide eyes, and Marinette turned away from them, wondering if she should just run back into the building. Unfortunately as she looked back at the building she saw no flames. _Damn._

Marinette looked back at the crowd of her neighbors and saw the cat lady from floor 3 her ten cats, who were in all different levels of stress. They each hung off of the woman, all in different places. In the woman’s hands was the smallest kitten with its fur spiked out in all different angles. When it saw Marinette, it jumped off of the lady’s palms and ran towards Marinette to rub against her. Marinette sighed at the sight of the cat, but grudgingly pet the cat as  a small puddle pooled around her feet. She had finally realized what kind of situation she was in, and she now stood squeaking and shivering as her body turned a bright red. The cold spring air around her did not really help her state as her wet feet started to turn blue. _What a great day to be alive,_ Marinette thought bitterly to herself. _This can’t possible get worst._

            Behind Marinette, someone jumped off of the fire escape and landed right beside her, causing a cold breeze to blow against the skin on Marinette’s thighs. The small kitten jumped a little and quickly crawled up Marinette’s legs and onto her head. Marinette grimaced in pain at the little claws, but ignored it as much as she could as she turned to see what hell looked like, and found that it looked like a very wet, Adrien Agreste. Marinette’s eyes widened in surprise as her eyes traveled from his wet, mop of hair to his glistening, naked chest, and then down to a blue towel that hung loosely around his waist. Marinette fought very hard to not turn redder, but it didn’t work very well.

            “You must be Kiki?” Adrien questioned, albeit a little breathlessly. His bright, green eyes widened a little, and his face started to tine pink as he noticed the only article of ‘clothing’ (if you could even call it that) that Marinette had on.

            Marinette couldn’t even respond. Marinette could only just shake and make little mewing noises.

            Adrien coughed “Well, I’m guessing you are since you’re the only one in a towel” Adrien joked, then coughed again when Marinette still didn’t respond. “I’m…Trouble, by the way…or I guess you could call me, Adrien…that’s what most people call me at least.” Adrien laughed again, and started to rub the back of his neck while simultaneously trying to cover up more of his body. When Marinette didn’t respond he slowly tried to continue: “And you’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That’s cool! I never knew I would see you again after school. I especially did not expect singing with you I the shower?” Adrien laughed nervously again. His gaze was caught by the kitten on Marinette’s head, and Adrien laughed harder at the situation. _God, this is nothing like the dream I had about meeting my neighbor around New Years; not even close to it_.

            Adrien reached for the kitten with one hand, and pulled it carefully down from Marinette’s head and placed it on the ground where it promptly started to rub itself against his wet leg. “There you go, little fella.” Adrien redirected his gaze towards Marinette again. “What a crazy day it’s been, hasn’t it?”

            Marinette could not compute a thing. Her mind was being over loaded with information.  _Trouble’s Adrien…Adrien’s Trouble…Adrien Agreste IS MY NEIGHBOR?! I’m naked in front of him, oh my gosh how do I get myself into these situations? Oh my gosh, he’s practically naked…in front of me…and he’s talking to me. I should probably say something. But what if I completely flub up? What will he think of me then? Oh my gosh, he just touched my head. What do I do??? Just say something Marinette!_ Marinette opened her mouth, and Adrien immediately stopped his rambling to let her speak, but all Marinette could do was open and close her mouth like a dying fish. Her brain started to pump even more thoughts out and she started to twitch. Within seconds Marinette short circuited and fainted. There was only so much information she could take at one time.

            “Oh my god! Are you ok?” Adrien bent down over his fallen friend and pushed away some of her bangs. She seemed to be breathing normally, but just happened to have fainted. _Great. Within moments of meeting my neighbor, she faints. Great job, Agreste. Just can’t wait to tell her I’m Chat Noir,_ Adrien thought sarcastically to himself as he carefully picked Marinette up and carefully carried her back into the apartment building after the fire drill was cleared. _How do I get myself into these situations_ , Adrien thought to himself, ignoring peoples’ stares as he crawled up the flights of stairs, back into his apartment. _It’s like being a model and superhero isn’t enough._

000

            It was a few hours before Marinette woke up again. Marinette woke up to find herself in a very comfortable, blue couch with a soft and heavy blanket sprawled across the top of her. She assumed she was in Adrien’s apartment since it had the same layout as her own, but had its own touches to it. There was no one in the room with her as far as she could tell. The couch that she was lying on was a part of a small living room that was connected to an open kitchen with an uneaten dinner on one of its counters. To her right was a door leading to what she assumed was Adrien’s bedroom and bath.

            Marinette carefully sat up on the couch and readjusted the towel she still had, around her body. She wrapped the blanket around the parts that her towel could not cover, and carefully stood up. Behind the couch was a small dining table with a sleeping Adrien resting his head on it. Marinette smiled sweetly at the sleeping boy. It had been ages since she had last seen him, and he was no longer the boy that she used to have a crush on. His face was much more defined, but it had the same eyes and shape to it. His hair was slightly shorter, but looked like it could comfortably go back in a small pony tail. His body was much taller, but defined him perfectly.  Adrien started to stir and she froze where she and watched Adrien pick his head off of the table slowly and wipe some of the drool off of the corners of his mouth.

            Marinette watched him from afar. Even after all of these years he still was so similar. He had clothes on now, to Marinette’s relief, and as he stretched, Marinette could see the slightest of definition through the thick cotton of his shirt.

            Adrien turned his head to look at the couch, and seemed to startle when he found that she was no longer there, and he jumped up.

            “Thank you for taking me inside after I fainted,” Marinette whispered.

            Adrien spun around and instantly smiled at Marinette. “No, problem. Just being chivalrous. I can’t leave a princess alone in the middle of a street.” Adrien’s smile was infectious, and Marinette smiled back.

            A comfortable silence filled the air between the two of them as they just stood there staring at each other, taking everything in.

            “So how have you been?” Marinette asked quietly, pulling the corners of the blanket closer to her for comfort.

            “I’ve been doing alright. I think you know what I’ve been doing as of late, being my neighbor and all, right? Overall though, I’ve been feeling pretty good.” Adrien replied.

“What happened to you after the group separated,” Marinette asked, honestly curious about Adrien.

“Well, after high school I got a teaching degree in English, and decided to come back

to Paris to teach it. You?” Adrien said, sinking his hands into the pockets on the sides of his pants.

            “Good. I got a job with your father…which you’ve heard about how that’s going already today, so I won’t elaborate.” Marinette drew little circles on the ground with her feet as she talked with Adrien. Marinette wanted the awkwardness to disappear from their conversation, but she didn’t really know how. All she knew was that she wanted nothing more than to finally be Adrien’s friend, but that would have to wait. Suddenly Marinette remembered that she had patrol that night, and her head shot up. “What time is it?”

            Adrien glanced down at his watch, and cursed quietly, then covered his mouth and stretched the skin on either side of his mouth. “It’s 9:50.” Adrien started to glance around, as if he was looking around for something. Marinette didn’t really notice as she was searching her brain for a way to get out of his apartment. She had already been late for a patrol this week, and she couldn’t let Chat get the best of her again… _Even if it was for a good cause_ , Marinette thought as she looked up at Adrien again. Ever since the two superheroes had gotten together again to fight crime, they had decided to bring back their old patrol schedule and to work on keeping Paris safe. And since that time, they had also made a challenge about being late. Whoever showed up late more, for one week, had to buy the other partner ice cream of their choice. Marinette certainly wanted that free ice cream this week, even if it meant losing some time with her neighbor.

            “Well I’m gonna have to go,” Marinette began and Adrien nodded in agreement.

            “Yeah, I kind of need to be somewhere…” Adrien rambled.

            That made Marinette stop in her tracks. “Where are you going at 9 pm?”

            Adrien blushed and just shrugged. “ Uh...my Grandma’s? I’m sorry…I’m not meaning to be rude, but I have to…”

            “Be somewhere? No, it’s fine. I have to be somewhere as well, so it’s fine. Though we do need to get together…I mean meet again once I have actual clothes on, right?” Marinette joked. “So….yeah… See you tomorrow morning?” Marinette asked.

            “Yeah, sounds great…my choice?” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck.

            “Yep. Bye!” Marinette quickly ran out of his apartment, closing the door quietly behind her. Only then did she realize she still had on his blanket. Marinette sheepishly knocked on his door, but he didn’t reply. Tentatively Marinette walked away and unlocked her door to her apartment.

            She put on a t-shirt and comfortable jeans as she folded Adrien’s blanket. It smelled of his cologne, and oddly of Camembert, but Marinette loved it nonetheless. She wasn’t sure how soon she was going to give the blanket back. _I mean if he didn’t want to answer the door, then surely he wouldn’t want the blanket,_ ” Marinette reasoned.

She closed her bedroom door behind her and called for Tikki. “Come on Tikki, Let’s go.” Marinette called, feeling the tight spandex wrap around her body as she jumped out of the window. “I can’t let that Cat win this week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! They finally met!!!! When I was writing this chapter I knew I wanted them to meet each other, but I didn't know how, then I just decided to throw in a little fire drill. I hope you liked this new chapter, and sorry it was a little late. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	7. New Feeling

            Marinette cooed as she sat up in her bed and stretched. The early, spring sun peeked into her bedroom making her blink rapidly. She growled quietly as the cold air of her apartment reached over her revealed skin. She pulled a fuzzy blanket over herself and hid under it. Within seconds, Marinette was snoring again. Tikki was rudely awakened by the noise, and she blearily stared around the dark room before rubbing her eyes slowly.

            Tikki yawned, then happily bounced out of her make-shift bed and soared into the sunlight. She giggled fondly down at the sleeping Marinette who was currently drooling all over her pillow. She flew closer and playfully tried to pull the blanket off of Marinette. Marinette only growled in retaliation and sleepily batted away her little friend. “Five more minutes…”

            With her tiny little arms, Tikki grabbed the fuzzy, black and red blanket and hauled it off of Marinette. “Come on Mari, it’s time to get up. You know you’ll be late if you don’t get up,” Tikki taunted. Marinette grumbled and finally opened her eyes. She scowled at Tikki.

            “You’re no fun.” Marinette huffed, slowly swinging her legs off of her warm bed. She kept the black spotted blanket around her bare shoulders as she attempted to heave herself out of her bed.

            “Oh, come on, you know you want to get up. You get to talk to Trouble,” Tikki said with a tiny smirk. Marinette squawked and hurled herself back onto her bed.

            “Nope.” Marinette’s muffled voice said as she shoved her head into her pillow and pulled the fluffy blanket back over her head. “Nope, not doing it.”

            “It’s just Adrien, Marinette. He is your friend. Not some super star. It’s not like he won’t want to talk or sing with you because he knows who you are. He’s not like that.” Tikki peered at the sleepy girl and hid a tiny little smile. “You know that’s Adrien’s blanket, right?” Tikki asked mischievously.

            Marinette pulled the blanket tighter against her. “I don’t care. It’s lovely warm.” Marinette sighed, and she released her hold on the blanket the longer Tikki tried to hide her smile. “I hate you.” She got up and trudged to her bathroom.

            Tikki giggled. “Love you too, Mari.” She threw a stack of clothes into the bathroom after Marinette. “Don’t forget to ask him for his phone number.”

            Marinette scowled at the closed door and stuck out her tongue. “Like my bumbling mouth could do that,” she fussed. Marinette undressed in the silence of her bathroom and slowly turned on the facet to the bathtub and waited for the water to get warmer.

            There were no sounds coming from Adrien’s bathroom, and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. _I don’t know if I can face him after yesterday’s fiasco,_ Marinette thought as she cringed. _Well I can at least check that off of my cringe checklist and never talk about it ever again; not even to Alya,_ Marinette vowed, stepping into the steaming water of her shower.

            With the absence of her I-pod and neighbor, Marinette started singing a song that had been stuck in her head for ages.

            “Waiting for the time to pass you by……Hope the winds of change will change your mind…I could give a thousand reasons why! And I know you, and you’ve got to…” Marinette threw the wet mop of her hair back against the top of her head and tapped the base line of the song against the wall.

            “Make it on your own, but we don’t have to grow up, we can stay forever young…Living on my sofa, drinking rum and cola; underneath the rising sun……I could give a thousand reasons why! But you’re going, and you know that…” Marinette took a deep breath and launched into the chorus.

            “All you have to do is stay. A minute. Just take. Your time. The clock. Is ticking. So stay… All you have to do is wait. A second. Your hands. In mine. The clock. Is ticking. So stay…” Marinette leaned her soapy hair into the stream of water, letting her hips rock to the rhythm that was beating inside her head. “All you have to do is stay.”

            Marinette started singing the next lines of the next verse when she practically jumped in the air at the surprise of hearing Adrien’s voice join hers in an acapella duet. Marinette’s voice faltered, making Adrien stop as well. “Sorry, is this alright?” Adrien asked tentatively.

            Marinette’s eyes widened a little and her heart rate increased at the sound of his voice. She quickly grabbed the shelf in her shower to bring herself back into reality. _Come on Mari, this is not going to be the last time you talk to Adrien, so just calm down (unless you make a complete fool of yourself in front of him, and he stops talking to you) and speak,_ Marinette argued with herself. She forced herself to count to ten in a low whisper. “One, two, three, four, five…ten, No, it’s fine if you join in, I just wasn’t expecting you.”

            “Well we do live in side-by-side apartments. I’d hope you knew that I live here,” Adrien joked. Marinette giggled lightly.

            “Sorry, yeah, of course I know. You just get caught in your own mind sometimes, you know? Honestly, I’m still just getting over the embarrassment of yesterday; I wasn’t thinking straight,” Marinette explained. She scrunched up her eyes and moved her lips and repeated what she just said, mimicking herself. _‘I’m getting over the embarrassment of yesterday’. What are you? Two? Oh god, I am so done for_.

“Yeah, that was awkward yesterday wasn’t it? Not my ideal way to introduce myself to you, was it? It didn’t really help that I carried you to my apartment, did it? God, I’m really sorry about that by the way. I didn’t mean to invade your personal space at all yesterday, and I’m deeply sorry if I did. God, I am such an idiot,” Adrien cried.

            Marinette imagined in her mind’s eye Adrien raking his hand through his already disheveled hair like he used to do while they were still in school. She smiled fondly at the memory. “You’re not an idiot…well maybe you are, but I guess we both are!” Marinette said rapidly, as she realized a possible mistake halfway through.

            “Yeah, I guess you are right there,” Adrien laughed. His husky laughter filled Marinette’s body with hope and she smiled. “I have to say, meeting someone in practically nothing was a new experience to me, that I’m unsure if I’d ever want to replicate,” Adrien babbled.

            “Yeah, it’s gone on my cringe list of ‘Never Do Again’,” Marinette replied, laughing.

            Adrien joined in. “Yeah, it’s gone on my list too. Nino would laugh if he ever heard the story,”

            Marinette nodded. “Alya too. She would love to torture me with it for the rest of time.” The two shared a laugh, continuing their showers. “Do you mind if we finish this song before we listen to your I-pod. I know I promised to listen to your music for once, today.”

            Adrien eagerly nodded and jumped right in: “Won’t admit what I already know. I’ve never been the best at letting go…”

            “I don’t wanna spend another night alone…Guess I need you, and I need to…” Marinette sang.

            “Make it on my own, but I don’t wanna grow up, we can stay forever young,” they sang together. “Living on my sofa; drinking rum and cola, underneath the rising sun.”

            “I can give a million reasons why!” Marinette sang, holding on the last note longer than needed, inflecting her voice.

            “But you’re going, and you know that…” Adrien continued.

            “ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STAY. A minute. Just take. Your time….The clock. Is ticking. So stay…All you have to do is wait. A second. Your hands. In mine. The clock. Is ticking. So stay…” Adrien hit his hands against the walls to their showers, simulating the sound of the beat while Marinette sang the melody of the instrumental part of the song. Both of them were grinning like idiots. Marinette did not realize until now that this was always the favorite part of her day; where she got to make music with her friend. It was such a bizarre experience each time, but it could never be replaced.

            “All you have to do is stay,” They both murmured in slightly breathy voices, ending the song. As the two regained their breathing pattern, the only thing they could hear was the patter of water hitting the base of their bathtubs.

            Marinette heard Adrien step out of his shower and click on a song. Immediately the sound of a synthetic instrument filled the volume of the two’s bathrooms. Marinette chose to listen to Adrien sing for a little while before joining him. His voice was much deeper than when they were kids. It was not too different, but he sounded much older and in control of his life. It was a voice that Marinette would love to listen to forever.

            “The club isn’t the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go…mmm. Me and my friends at the table doing shots, drinking fast and then we talk slow…And you come over and start up a conversation with just me, and trust me I’ll give it a chance….Now take my hand, stop, put Van the Man on the jukebox and then we start to dance,” Adrien sang mostly in tune. Marinette had to restrain her giggles as his voice jumped octaves a little, making him sound like a pubescent boy.

            “And now I’m singing like: Girl, you know I want your love. Your love was handmade for somebody like me. Come on now, follow my lead. I may be crazy, don’t mind me say: Boy, let’s not talk too much. Grab on my waist and put that body on me. Come on now, follow my lead. Come, come on now, follow my lead…mmm,” the two sang together. For a brief second Marinette imagined dancing with Adrien and feeling his hands around her waist as he tugged her gently towards him. Marinette quickly shook herself out of it. _That’s it, no more tumblr for you_ , Marinette scolded herself.

            Adrien’s voice broke off at the chorus and invited Marinette to sing the second verse. She happily obliged but stumbled on a few words as she did not know the song too well. “One week in we let the story begin we’re going out on our first date…You and me are thrifty so go all you can eat. Fill your bag up and I fill up a plate. We talk for hours and hours about the sweat and the shower, and how your cat is doing okay…mmm. And leave and get in a taxi, then kiss in the backseat, tell the driver ‘make the radio play', and I’m singing like.”

            “Girl, you know I want your love. Your love was handmade for somebody like me. Come on now, follow my lead.” Marinette leaned against the wall of her shower and let the water wash off the soap and dirt from her body. Adrien’s voice joined hers again in the chorus. Marinette chose to sing an octave above what was originally sung, creating a beautiful harmony between the two voices.

            “I’m in love with the shape of you. We push and pull like a magnet do; although my heart is falling too. I’m in love with your body. And last night you were in my room, and now my bedsheets smell like you. Everyday discovering something brand new.”

            Ever since Marinette had heard this song she had always thought about how weird the lyrics ‘my bedsheets smell like you’ was because if your bedsheets smell, there’s something wrong. But as Marinette though about the blanket that Adrien had given her (well she kind of stole it, but that was beside the point), she realized how someone’s smell could be so comforting.

            The song ended quietly and the beginning of Wham!’s song “Careless Whisper” blared from Adrien’s speakers. Adrien leaped out of his shower and tried to turn it down. Marinette paused what she was doing to collapse, laughing. “Interesting music choice!” Marinette was able to yell over the blasting saxophone music.

            Adrien blushed. “Yeah, sorry. I just have the song because of the meme. I can change it if you want?” Adrien turned down the volume so that it was just above a whisper.

            “No, it’s fine. I’m about done with my shower anyway. I have to be at work soon, so…” Marinette replied.

            “Oh, shoot, thanks for reminding me. I have to meet my Father this morning. Do you mind if we go together?” Adrien asked. His shower turned off, and the sound of him drying off his hair mixed with the blaring saxophone music.

            “Sure; I don’t mind at all. Do you want to meet outside our apartments in a few minutes?” Marinette responded, picking up her curling iron.

Adrien laughed. “Yeah, but preferably with clothes.”

            Marinette growled playfully. “I DIDN’T MEAN TO DO THAT! And may I remind you; you were just as bare-butted as I was, if not more, so you have no room to talk. Also, you were also the one who told me to just forget the towel. So just, shush!”

            Adrien chuckled. “I don’t think it would have been too bad to see a little more skin,” he said with a husky voice. When Marinette didn’t’ immediately reply, Adrien started to fumble over his words. “Sorry that sounded wrong…I meant it as...”

            Marinette giggled as he struggled with his words. “I know it was meant as a joke. But I do have to admit I would not have minded either to see a little more of that hunk-iness.” A deep rouge covered Marinette’s cheeks lightly and her eyes glazed over. _Shit; now you did it_. The curling iron attached to Marinette’s hair started to burn the top of her ear and she let out a little screech and quickly unclamped it. She threw on a skirt and a blue blouse as she slapped on some simple eyeliner and mascara. “You ready?” Marinette called through the wall as she slipped on tan, characters shoes.

            “Yep,” came a strangled voice as if he was struggling with a life threatening tie. “See you in the hallway?”

            “Last one there’s a rotten egg,” Marinette called, grinning ear to ear as she flicked the switch to the light in her bathroom and ran into her apartment. She grabbed her purse and urged Tikki to jump in, ignoring the mischievous smirk on her face. Marinette was the first to get into the hallway and she beamed. Adrien came out of his door huffing and puffing as he shoved a ball of fur into his pants’ pocket. When he saw Marinette beaming from ear to ear, he laughed genuinely.

            “You have always been a kid; nothing changed there.” Adrien smiled back at Marinette and offered his arm. “Shall we go, My Lady.”

            Marinette stiffened at his nickname, but took his arm nonetheless. _That rotten cat is getting to you Marinette. I knew he was a bad influence._

            Adrien’s hand was soft and steady against her touch as they raced down the stairs towards the down town of Paris. Through some sort of mental communication, they both decided to ditch the taxis to choose the alternative of running down the streets of Paris to the Agreste Fashion Headquarters.

            The heavy beats of Marinette and Adrien’s shoes rattled the bricks below them. The air was filled with their secretive laughter as they dodged between the people of Paris. Some looked at them like they were hooligans, while others joined their laughter. Marinette kept her hand attached to Adrien’s elbow, but he reached over and pried her fingers off to place them inside his hand. Marinette ignored the shoot of electricity that ran through her arms as they sprinted. For one brief second their eyes met. Marinette noticed something familiar in those deep, green eyes, but could not place it. Adrien’s arms wrapped around Marinette’s waist and he spun her away from the course of a bicycle. His right hand returned to its place wrapped in Marinette’s as they reached the stairs to his Father’s offices.

            Out of breath, Adrien and Marinette reached the great doors to the humongous building. Shocking several employees, the two collapsed against the walls of the interior. Marinette’s heeled feet tapped against Adrien’s leather shoes as they slid together to the frosty, linoleum floor. With deft fingers, Marinette pulled the strands of hair away from her face and turned towards Adrien, who was doing the same. At the sight of each other sweating from the crazy running through the streets of Paris, they collapsed into giggles. Only when Gabriel Agreste’s secretary Natalie gave them a strong glare did they settle down.

            “That’s the most fun I’ve had in a while,” Adrien admitted.  “But I’m so out of shape!”

            Marinette playfully poked him in the ribs, feeling the slight muscle definition underneath his cotton button-up. “I wouldn’t really say you’re out of shape,” Marinette teased. She suddenly realized what she was doing, where, and with who, so she dropped her act. Adrien gave her a slight questioning look before understanding dawned on him.

            “Oh, well, I guess I need to go meet my Father,” Adrien said in a low voice, avoiding all of the stares. He crawled back onto tow feet and leant a hand to Marinette. She took it tentatively.

            They stood at a respectable distance from each other, but Adrien chose to step closer to Marinette. Marinette’s blood pumped quickly through her body and she felt the tips of her hair practically turn red. Adrien leaned close to Marinette’s ear. “Would it be alright if I asked you to meet me sometime for dinner? I know it’s not our usual meeting place.” Adrien paused to let out a little laugh that only served to stir long-dead butterflies in Marinette’s stomach. “I want to get to know you a little better, if that’s alright.” Adrien stared into Marinette’s eyes. Marinette struggled to remember how to swallow, and had to manually tell herself to do so.

            “Yes,” she whispered back.

            Adrien pushed a crumpled piece of paper into Marinette’s petite hand and stepped back. “Thank you. See you soon, …Marinette.” Adrien gave Marinette a little salute before running off to Natalie to talk about arranging a time to talk to his father. He glanced over his shoulder to look at her again, only to smile and turn back around.

            Marinette couldn’t move. She opened the slip of paper and felt the air force its way out of her. The cheesy words: “Call me maybe” with his phone number were written on the little slip of paper. “How the heck did I meet this weirdo…” Marinette wondered to herself, making her way to her studio.

000

            “I can’t do this.” Adrien stared down at his phone with his hands resting in his hair.

            Plagg was reclining on a throne of camembert and shrugged. “Just do it, kid. There’s nothing stopping you.  If you don’t, you can just happily live by yourself,…forever.”

            Adrien glared back at him. He slicked back his blonde hair, only to have it fall back into his face. Adrien’s finger hovered over Marinette’s contact ID, but he pulled back his hand. “What if she says no?”

            Plagg sighed tiredly. “She likes you, Adrien; at the very least like a friend. Just ask her out. It’s not that hard. Just click the call button. She’ll pick up, and you’ll talk to her. You’ll ask her to see her at the festival tomorrow. She’ll say yes. You will hang up and be content until you start worrying about something else; like how are you going to do patrol with Ladybug and meet up with Marinette within the same day. But this all depends on a worthless human’s ability to speak correctly,” Plagg said in a non-interested voice.

            Adrien growled. “I hate you.” He clicked the call button and held his phone to his ear.

            “Hello?” came an innocently, sweet voice that was solely Marinette’s. Adrien immediately started to sweat as his cheeks turned red. _You can do this, Adrien. It’s simple; just like Plagg said. She’s Marinette; she won’t hate me for asking_.

            “He..Hey Marinette! I,I was wondering if you would like to meet me tomorrow at the festival and just kind of catch up?” Adrien’s voice cracked, but he coughed to cover it up. He listened patiently for Marinette’s reply. Her bubbly voice seemed to smile as she replied.

            Adrien grinned at her response as she accepted his offer. “That’s great! Yeah……I’ll meet you outside your apartment! That sounds perfect. 10am? Great. Yeah, I’ll see you then. Bye.” Adrien pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed the red button. He let out a heavy breath and grinned.

            “Feel better?” Plagg asked, smirking.

            Adrien nodded; lost in thought. “Yeah,” he said giddily.

            “Now your lady has a little competition, no?” Plagg asked slyly.

            Adrien froze. “OH NO! I have to meet Ladybug tomorrow for patrol at the festival! Crap! What am I going to do? Why didn’t I think about it?!!” Plagg just snickered. Adrien glared at him as he realized. “I hate you.”

            “Oh, you know you love me,” Plagg replied. “I’ve created the perfect plan.”

            “Oh really?” Adrien questioned skeptically.

            “Oh really,” Plagg confirmed. “You can now find out who you should waste your time on for the rest of your life. You were complaining all last night after patrol about ‘how will I choose between My Lady and My Princess!’ Well, I solved it. You just have to interact with each of them in the same sort of time frame and you will make your decision. As easy as that,” Plagg explained.

            Adrien stared at him, dumbfounded. “You want me to…? You know what? Never mind.  I’ll solve this by myself. Plagg, Claws Out!” Much to Plagg’s protesting, Adrien donned his hero suit to reach around his back to grab his baton. He sent a quick text to Ladybug, asking if they could start patrol about two tomorrow, and he released his transformation. Plagg grumpily flew out of the ring and onto his stack of cheese. Within seconds, Plagg was vibrating as he received a message sent by Ladybug.

            “I hate you,” Plagg said with venom in his voice, before relaying the message to Adrien “Lovebug16 replied that ‘That sounds great. Usual spot.”

            Adrien stuck his tongue out at Plagg. “See? I’m not a worthless human being after all.”

            “Mostly,” Plagg murmured under his breath as Adrien exited the room.

            “I can still hear you!” Adrien called back, throwing a pillow into Plagg’s face, sending him flying back off of his throne. Looking like a fur ball Plagg grumbled. “Spoiled cat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Our favorite characters are now starting to get closer! Thank you for reading this story, I hope you are liking it. As you have noticed I have been updating everyday, but the fully updated story is on fanfiction.net if you really want to get ahead, but I will be continuing to update daily on here until I get to where I am writing it. My fanfiction.net name is the same as it is on here if you want to check it out. Again, I really appreciate you guys reading my stories. It feels weird to know that actual people are reading it. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. I love all of your feedback, it really makes me smile. Until I write again, TTFN!


	8. It's Not a Date

            “Mari, you’re going to be fine,” Tikki sighed for about the seventeenth time.

            “No, it has to be perfect,” Marinette huffed. She was determined to get this right. Marinette bent her head closer to her mannequin and pulled the cloth closer together.

            Marinette had woken up at five a.m. that morning with the idea to make a new outfit for her ‘date’ with Adrien. One might think her quite crazy, but at a quarter to ten, she was putting the final touches on. It was just the way Marinette worked. She didn’t get into an internship with the Gabriel Agreste for nothing.

            She pulled the soft dress off of the mannequin and slid it over her thin tank top and shorts. It fit exactly the way she had planned. “What do you think?” Marinette asked Tikki, whirling around. The small skirt spun around her, making her smile.

            Tikki beamed. “Perfect.” Marinette grinned giddily back. Still wearing the smile, Marinette bounced to her bathroom and flicked on the light. Humming to “Sway” by Michael Bublé, which played softly in the background of her apartment. Marinette gently applied a light layer of make-up and eyeliner on her pale face. She smiled in satisfaction with her handy work as she walked out of the room. She padded lightly to her entry way and pulled on her comfortable pink flats. She then took a nervous glance down at her phone’s clock as she turned off her music. She still had ten minutes to spare.

            “Gah! Now what am I going to do?!” Marinette yelled, exasperated.

            “You could relax,” Tikki chided, but she knew that Mari would be incapable to relax in her ‘before date’ mode.

            Marinette nodded dumbly and wandered to her couch where she delicately sat on it. Within seconds she threw her feet onto the couch with a “hmpf”. She bounced her foot up and down, jiggling the couch. “Is it time to go yet?” Marinette asked, glancing at the clock.

            Tikki giggled. “No sweetheart, but I guess we can start out…”

            Marinette bounced up and ran towards the door, grabbing her keys and shoving them into her purse. “Come on Tikki! Let’s go!” Tikki shook her head and laughed, but she jumped into Marinette’s purse and got comfortable before Marinette rushed out the door. Tikki bumped alongside the other accouterments inside Marinette’s purse as Marinette hurdled down the stairs. “Slow down,” Tikki whispered, but knew it was useless. Tikki smiled at the child-like nature of her chosen.

            A few blocks later, Marinette slowed as she reached the back of her parents’ bakery. “I can do this,” She whispered encouragingly to herself. Almost like a ninja, Marinette rounded the corner of the bakery and peeked inside. The only people that she could see wandering around inside were her mother, guarding the baked goods, and a few customers. It seemed like the morning rush was done, but she found no sign of trouble. Marinette let out a breath of relief, but still felt the pang of worry strike through her. Pushing the worry down, Marinette pushed the bakery door open and walked into the cozy atmosphere of freshly baked pastries and goods. Marinette stood in the short line and waited to get to the front. “Hey mom!” She cried out cheerily, reaching the front.

            “Hello dear! This is a nice surprise!” Mrs. Dupain-Cheng responded sending a bright smile up to her daughter. “What are you doing here?” She handed Marinette a small bag of pastries and Marinette looked at her mother quizzically.

            “Uh, you knew I was coming this morning?...I told you over the phone last night…” Marinette stopped her train of thought as she felt a hand land on her shoulder.

            “I believe she was looking for me,” Adrien beamed. Marinette froze on the spot. She was not expecting this at all. _That sneaky bastard_ , Marinette thought, fighting to keep her blush from being too noticeable. _Don’t freak out, don’t freak out. This would be so much easier if it wasn’t Adrien Agreste, who I had a crush on forever, and now he’s my neighbor who knows my parents, who likes food, and surprising me, and oh my gosh Mari, you need to calm down._

            Adrien took his hand off of Marinette’s shoulder, giving her some respite, but he then led her over to a small table where he sat her down.

            “Hi,” Marinette said, strangled as she slid onto her cool seat by the window.

            “Hi,” Adrien whispered back. They sat in silence as they just looked at each other. This was a completely different dynamic to the one that they shared inside their bathrooms. For one they weren’t singing here, and another, Marinette felt it was different to get to know her neighbor when seeing him in person. Also the face of an old school friend that she had a crush on didn’t help the matters. Marinette thought she heard a camera flash behind her, but she decided to ignore it.

Adrien looked very comfortable in his green, checked, button up and bright, tan pants. His hair fell softly around his ears. It was longer than she remembered, but she found she liked it. Marinette’s attention shifted to his eyes, and her blush deepened when she found the soft, green eyes staring right into hers’. She cleared her throat and grabbed one of the croissants inside the bag that her mother gave her. “Want one?”

            Adrien nodded eagerly. “Yeah, thanks.” Their fingers touched gently as he grabbed the croissant and shoved it in his mouth. Flakes of butter and pastry flew everywhere and Marinette sniggered at the sight. Adrien looked at her with a petrified look as he grew very red. “Whoops..?”

            Marinette’s mother scurried over with a mountain of napkins and set them on the table. “Here you are dear.” She handed a napkin to Adrien, only making him blush harder.

            “Thank you,” he said, voice muffled by the food in his mouth, making Marinette snicker more.

            “So how’s the date going?” Marinette’s mother asked, looking at them expectantly.

            Adrien spewed his food into the napkin, and Marinette’s chuckles died. “Uh... Maman, it’s not a date. We’re just catching up...” Marinette tried to explain, fumbling for words. At that moment Marinette’s father walked up to them and clapped Adrien on the back.

            “I knew this day would come eventually! Now you’re being careful with my Mari, right son?” Mr. Dupain-Cheng demanded. Both Adrien and Marinette spluttered while they tried to find a way to answer that. They stared at each other, blushing furiously. Finally Adrien was able to come up with something to say.

            “Um, I….? Of course, sir. We’re friends. I wouldn’t treat Mari.. I mean I wouldn’t treat Marinette without the utmost respect,” Adrien replied. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Marinette with wide eyes. Marinette took the hint.

            “He’s right, Papa, but you know we should probably get going… We have a lot to see and do today, right Adrien? We’d best be off.” Marinette kissed her parents goodbye and ran out the door with the bag of pastries in one hand, and Adrien in the other. The two ran for the high hills, running as far away as possible from that awkward situation. A few blocks away, Marinette was able to finally take a breath.

            “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry about that! My parents….they’re just as crazy as you can get,” Marinette ranted.

            Adrien looked at her affectionately, lost in thought. “It was fine, Marinette, just a little unexpected.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck again. “It probably didn’t help much that I used to ask about you for a while whenever I came here for some croissants. I think they believed that I liked you a lot or something.”

            Marinette’s breath hitched but she ignored it. _Don’t you dare freak out, Mari. You are friends; nothing else. You are over your school crush._ “Yeah that would probably make sense, but my family also has the tendency to ship me with random people so it’s not all that uncommon,” Marinette joked. “Sorry for pulling you into that.”

            Adrien smiled, and then pointed to the bag in Marinette’s hand. “Can I have another?”

            Marinette offered him the bag. “Why not have them all?” She laughed.

            “Don’t mind if I do.” Adrien winked at Marinette and snatched the bag out of her hands. “They need that proper loving that only I can give ‘em,” he said with a smirk. Marinette pushed him gently.

            “God, you’re incorrigible.”

000

            Marinette lazily licked her salty lips, enjoying the last tastes of her croissant. She walked side by side with Adrien down the Champs Elysees, enjoying the summer sun beating down on her back. From the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien glancing at her as he ate the last of the croissants. Marinette inwardly smiled and let a giggle escape her lips.

            Adrien raised one of his eyebrows at her. “What…?”

            Marinette smiled shyly at him. “I know I’m not great at starting conversation, but this is ridiculous. You can stop glancing at me. All you have to do is talk to me, and I promise, you’ll see a lot more of my face that way,” she tentatively joked.

            Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and craned his head so he could look at Marinette properly. “Is that what you think I want? You are very wrong. I just asked you here because I wanted to hear your delightful voice.”

            Marinette shook her head, smiling. “So what is it you want to ask me? I’m your neighbor, ask me anything,” she pointed out. “Since we’re out and about on a lovely day in Paris, it would be a little awkward if we just walked around in silence, right?”

            Adrien bowed his head as he nodded. “I suppose that would be a good idea. So which question to ask first?” Adrien laid his fingers on his chin and he tapped his chin thoughtfully. “What’s your favorite color?”

            Marinette gave him a funny look. “That’s the best you could do?” Adrien just shrugged.

            “Let’s start with the simple questions, and then we’ll get to the life altering ones,” Adrien joked with a smile.

            Marinette bumped Adrien’s shoulder playfully, smiling. “Ok, I’ll have to say my favorite color is pink, or maybe green.”

            “Why?” Adrien questioned.

            Marinette shrugged. “I don’t know? Both of them remind me of spring, I guess. How about you?”

            Adrien hummed as he thought. “I think my favorite color is blue, like um…like the color of bluebells.” Adrien pointed to a patch of bluebells in the yard of a broken down house on the side of the Champs Elysees. The two paused by the house looking at the beautiful patches of flowers that surrounded the broken down house.

            “Ladybug or Chat Noir?” Marinette blurted out, walking down the road again towards the faire that the two wanted to go to.

            “Uh, I’d have to say Ladybug because she is a classic, you know? She knows what she is doing, yet she’s not afraid to make mistakes. I think that’s important for a superhero. They can’t be super all of the time,” Adrien explained.

            “Couldn’t the same be said for Chat Noir?” Marinette questioned back. “I mean he cares so much for the city of Paris, yet he is willing to make mistakes to sacrifice himself for Ladybug in a blink of an eye. Ladybug is almost too blind to really do too much,” she countered.

            “You like Chat Noir?” Adrien asked, surprised.

            Marinette stuttered. “I think he’s a good guy. Ladybug’s just a little too publicized for me, and I think Chat Noir deserves more attention for what he does. He is just as important as Ladybug is,” Marinette said. _I do not like him in the weird way. He’s my best friend; he means a lot to me. There would be no Ladybug without Chat Noir, whoever he is_.

            Adrien nodded in understanding. “I get that. Chat Noir is pretty cool, in that respect. I think we can agree to ‘meow’-sagree.” Adrien’s face was lit up by a Cheshire cat smile, making Marinette sneer in disgust.

            “Ugh, you’re one of those people, huh? God, what am I going to do with you?” Marinette protested. Adrien sniggered.

            “I guess you’re just going to have to ‘Agreste’ me.” He pushed his face closer to Marinette’s and grinned wickedly. Marinette shoved his face away, making a retching noise.

            “Come on, you weirdo.” The two of them turned a corner and arrived at the entrance to the faire. The screams of kids and adults alike reached their ears and they watched as people rode up and down the portable roller coaster as they stepped into line.

            “Two adults,” Adrien called, sliding a few euros to the cashier, and grasped the tickets that were tossed back at him. They stepped out of the line and Adrien handed Marinette her ticket.

            “You didn’t have to do that,” Marinette complained. “I could have paid for my own.”

            Adrien just waved his hand. “Nah, it’s my pleasure. It’s the least I can do for your companionship.” He smiled happily back at Marinette, and she pushed him teasingly.

            “Alright, Trouble, what do you want to do first? Eat more food? Go on a merry go round? Ferris Wheel it up? Or that Wheel of death over there?” Marinette pointed at the circling roll of death at the farthest point of the festival.

            “As much as that sounds like fun, I don’t really feel in the mood to get puke showered all over these nice clothes,” Adrien complained. He pointed to his clothes and flexed his muscles slightly, winning him a blush from Marinette.

            “Alright, whiny pants, we can start with the food trucks first.” Without thinking, Marinette grabbed Adrien by the hand and bought him a corndog.

            She didn’t know what was wrong with her. One moment she was a giggling mess in front of Adrien, and the next she was holding his hand and directing him everywhere. _Wow, you got to zero base with Adrien. You are ridiculous. Let’s try being friends first and then see where things go, Mari_.

            A few food trucks later the two sat close to each other on a bench, eating and people watching. In between each bite of food they filled their time by asking ridiculous questions of each other.

            “Noodles or rice?” Marinette asked.

            “Rice,” Adrien replied definitively. “No doubt about it.”

            “Agreed, but noodles are pretty nice. However, I grew up on rice, so I can agree that rice is far superior. Next question.” Marinette licked the remnants of food off of her fingers and turned to look into Adrien’s eyes.

            Adrien stared back fixedly as he thought of a question. “Which music genre is your favorite? Now be truthful, Marinette. We both know you’re not that good at lying,” Adrien joked. “I know you didn’t have to go to the restroom all that much when we were in school,” he laughed. Marinette stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh harder.

            “Well neither are you, since you seemed to always be in the need to take a shower!” Marinette countered. Marinette found her chest expanding in happiness as his laugh continued. She remembers treasuring every moment he would laugh when they were in school. _He seems to have grown a lot since we were kids. He seems a lot happier, and I don’t think it’s just the case with me_. “I’d say my favorite is K-Pop because even though I can hardly understand a word they are saying, it’s so different and you can just see all of the effort that they put into every song and it’s just amazing!” Marinette babbled. Her hands became animated in their description, and Adrien smiled as he ducked out of the way of her flying hands. “How about you?” Marinette asked, quickly returning her hands to her laps as she noticed Adrien’s movements.

            Adrien shook his head. “I like a lot of genres, but I think I like the classical 80s the most. I just can’t imagine a day without Queen or Journey. My mom and dad used to dance with me around our living room, singing those crazy American songs.” Adrien laughed a sadly and his face fell slightly.

            “You miss her, don’t you?” Marinette moved her hand closer to Adrien’s and gave him a sad smile.

            “Yeah,” he whispered and took Marinette’s had, giving her a small smile. She squeezed his hand softly and gave him a soft and caring look. Because of her desperate need to hug his pains away, Marinette had shifted closer to Adrien until their shoulders’ and knees briefly brushed up against each other.

            “You’ve got something there…” Adrien pointed to a spot on Marinette’s cheek where a speck of food. Marinette immediately pushed her hand to her cheek and tried to scrub away the spot of food. She looked back at Adrien for approval, but he shook his head. “Let me get it for you…” He leaned in a little closer to Marinette and hesitantly brushed off a few crumbs off of her cheek with the pad of his thumb. His hand rested, cupping her cheek with the lightest touch, and Marinette couldn’t help but hear her heart beat louder.

            “SAY CHEESE!” Someone yelled in front of them, making Adrien and Marinette jump back as they blinked owlishly at the flash from the camera. Alya Cesaire and Nino Lahiffe cackled devilishly as they took a few more pictures of their friends.

            Marinette blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the sunny spots impairing her vision. She stumbled off of the bench and drunkenly glared at Alya. “Alya? Nino?” Marinette asked.

            “What? Did we destroy the moment?” Nino joked. Nino was picking up Adrien from the bench as he patted him on the back.

            Adrien and Marinette furiously tried to bury their blushes as they ignored everyone’s gaze, especially each other’s. Adrien was the first to recover. “What are you guys even doing here?’ he asked conversationally.

            Alya linked her hand in Nino’s. “Oh you know, like most other people here; going on a date.”

            “It’s not a date,” Adrien countered, but was duly ignored.  

“But we also may have decided to stalk you guys a little,” Nino murmured, and Adrien let out an outraged gasp.

            “Nino! Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have told you!” Adrien growled. Alya laughed.

            “You know it wasn’t all you. I tracked you guys’ phones,” Alya explained simply. Adrien and Marinette’s mouths popped open. “What?” Alya looked at the two weirdly. “I’m the head of the Ladyblog! What do you think I am? When I find my friends are going on a date, of course I’m going to follow them,” she explained enthusiastically. “It’s just what I do.”

            Marinette shook her head, silently laughing. “Well if you’re such a nosy butt, why don’t you just join us?” Adrien nodded in agreement.

            Nino backed up a little. “No, we shouldn’t. I asked Alya on a date for a reason. This is not it,” He chided, squeezing Alya’s hand softly.

            Adrien patted Nino on the back. “Come on, just one ride, how about?”

            “I think we can fit that in,” Alya commented eagerly. “By the way, how have you been, Mr. Adrien Agreste?” She linked her arms with Adrien and Marinette’s as they started to stroll down the faire’s main avenue.

000

            Marinette leaned on Alya for support. She tried to regain her breath as her laughing subsided. “You should have seen your guys’ faces!” Marinette wheezed.

            “That was a big dip!” Nino defended. “How were we supposed to know it was coming?” He collapsed comically onto Adrien’s shoulder, pushing him over, near Marinette, so that their shoulders barely touched.

            “Truth be told, we should have known it was coming by the fifth time,” Alya said, defeatedly. Marinette giggled in triumph.

            “I never knew you were so competitive,” Adrien wondered aloud.

            Marinette bounced up and down, and smiled cheekily up at Adrien. “You don’t know me well enough.”

            Adrien met Marinette’s stare with one of his own. “True,” and he leaned closer, teasingly. “But maybe I w _ant_ to know you better.” Adrien winked, and both of them stared at each other competitively. Adrien’s words did not immediately register within Marinette’s brain, but when they did Marinette immediately blushed and backed up the slightest bit from Adrien’s very close face.

            Alya laughed. “Woo! It’s getting a little hot in here. I’d say this is our signal to leave Nino.” Alya patted Marinette on the shoulder. “See you around girl.” Alya stepped a little closer to Marinette’s ear and whispered: “Go get ‘em!” Alya grabbed Nino’s arm and started pulling him away. Nino gave Adrien a sympathetic look as Adrien clamored for help. Nino mouthed ‘sorry’ before having to turn away. “Have fun with your date!” Alya called.

            “It’s not a date!” Marinette called back. _No matter how much I wish it were_.

            Adrien laughed beside her, breaking the weird silence that had wedged itself between them. “That sure got rid of them fast. “ He nudged Marinette softly with his elbow, as if he were testing the waters. He was rewarded with a giggle. With her tinkling laugh, Adrien was suddenly reminded of one last ride that he had planned. He rested his hand on Marinette’s shoulder and once again leaned closer to her. “I have one more spot to show you,” he murmured. “Can you follow me?”

            Mariette turned her bright, bluebell eyes on him. There was a little twinkle in her eye as she asked: “Can I trust you?”

            Adrien let out a low laugh. “I guess you’ll just have to see, princess.” Adrien grasped Marinette’s hand and started off. Marinette easily kept up as they weaved through the crowds past the rest of the food trucks, the street-side cafes, the large and the small roller coasters, and the carnival games. Within moments they were within reach of a large Ferris wheel with a decently long line.

            “I hope you don’t mind the wait,” Adrien whispered breathlessly in Marinette’s ear. “I thought this would be a nice finale.” Marinette smiled and snuck her hand into his to squeeze it.

            “Thank you Adrien.”

            It was not too long of a wait before Adrien and Marinette got to the front. As was accustomed, they presented their tickets and stood behind the safely line to wait a little longer for their own carriage. When the time came, the two wordlessly moved smoothly to the bench as another couple left it. The back of their knees just touched the edge of the seat as they were hoisted into the air.

            Marinette smiled giddily as clank by clank they reached the top. Up on top, Paris was glistening in mid-day shine. Looking at how the bright and clear sky met the rooftops and grass of Paris, Marinette was instantly reminded of Adrien. He was always so bright and happy whenever she saw him. He was the beautiful sun in her world, just like he was so many years ago. _Who knew I would meet them again in a shower_ , Marinette pondered.

            Adrien nudged Marinette’s knee playfully. “What ‘cha thinking about?”

            Marinette jumped a little and blushed. “Oh, not too much. Just thinking about how life kind of changes.” Adrien cocked his head a little bit, urging her to explain. “I mean when we first met, like when we were young, I hated you and then you became my friend all because of an umbrella. Then flash forward like 10 years and I meet you again in a shower, naked, and then actually meet you practically naked in front of our apartment complex. And now here we are sitting comfortably on a Ferris wheel talking about nothing, but everything at the same time. It feels like nothing, but everything has changed.” Marinette looked down at her hands in her lap.

            Adrien laughed. “Yeah, we sure are not normal friends.” It was silent for a while as the two watched the sun rise to its peak. “You know one thing that I regret?” Adrien asked tentatively.

            _One thing?_ Marinette thought. “Mm?”

            “Not once contacting you after graduating.” Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but Adrien continued. “I know what you’re going to say, but don’t say it.” Adrien gave a tired smile to Marinette. “You were one of my best friends; my second real one ever and I didn’t even shoot you an email! Heck I didn’t even contact Nino for a while. I don’t know what I was doing for those years…” Adrien trailed off, but Marinette gently brushed against his hand with her own.

            “Well you’ve got me now; us I mean, all of your friends. We’re all here for you, even my family!” Marinette ended with a joke, and was rewarded by one of his smiles.

            Adrien’s hand wrapped itself around Marinette’s own hand and he twisted it gently and pressed his lips to it. “Thank you, Marinette.”

            Marinette beamed. “Anytime Adrikins.” She burst into laughter as Adrien scrunched his face up. Adrien batted playfully at Marinette, trying to get back at her, but she just laughed. As their Ferris wheel carriage touched the ground, they leapt off, laughing and tugging at each other gently.

            Marinette blocked another one of Adrien’s playful jabs, and sent in her own tickling grenade. She hit it perfectly, and he squirmed at her touch. As soon as Adrien was able to gather back some of the lost air, a twinkle was added to his eyes as he smiled devilishly. “So you want to play dirty, do ya?” In a flicker of movement Adrien grabbed the one bow in Marinette’s hair that was keeping it up and ran. Marinette’s hair fell down in a graceful poof in front of her eyes and she growled. She tried snatching it back, but Adrien held it high, above her reach. “Sorry you can’t have it.” Adrien smiled like Tigger, and ran off, leading Marinette away from the street faire, and towards home.

            It was a very close race as Marinette and Adrien bounded down alleyways and side streets. It finally ended as Marinette pounced right outside of their apartment doors, sending both of them flying onto the floor in a tangle of limbs. Each of their heavy breathings clouded in each other’s faces as they struggled to get up, only to fall back down. Marinette put her hands on either side of what she presumed to be Adrien’s head and pushed up. Very, very carefully Marinette untangled their limbs and hair so that she could easily push herself away, but she didn’t. She remained hovered slightly above Adrien’s too close face, entrapped in his gaze. Adrien stared back up at her in such a beautiful fashion, Marinette started to worry if the whole apartment building could hear her heartbeat.

            Hesitantly, Adrien grasped Marinette’s bow and gently pushed back a few strands of hair to clip it onto place. “There,” he whispered, “all better.”

            Marinette blushed deep red and tried to hide her reddening face, but she couldn’t look away. In a low, breathless voice, Marinette was able to copy: “all better.” In slow motion, Marinette sat up and gently rolled off of Adrien. She offered him a hand up, which he took.

            Adrien walked Marinette the rest of the way to her apartment. She got out her keys and gently placed them in the lock and turned it, opening her door. But before she walked in, she glanced back at Adrien.

            “Thank you for taking me out, Adrien. I had a really fun time,” she murmured. “I honestly don’t get out enough.”

            Adrien slid his hands into his pockets. “It was a pleasure, Marinette. I hope that we can do it again,” he replied.

            Marinette nodded. “I’d love that.” Then before she could over analyze her decision, Marinette leaned closer to Adrien and landed a soft peck on to his cheek. “See you around, Trouble maker.” Marinette quickly shut her door behind her and let out a large, pent up breath.

            “I am in deep shit,” she whispered to no one in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Hope you liked the cute fluff. Don't worry, there is more to come. Thank you for reading, and please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	9. Hungry Eyes

            Adrien fluffed his hair as he watched his reflection in the mirror. “You ready to go, Plagg?”

            Plagg shoved a whole wheel of camembert into his mouth. “I guess.” Plagg swallowed. “Now tell me why we’re doing this again?” Plagg asked, sounding like he could care less. He dove into Adrien’s trash can, searching for scraps.

            Adrien swept his hair back, trying to make it stay. “I’m going on patrol with Ladybug, but I’m going to be so cunning with my moves and my words that I’ll sweep her off her feet. ‘Cause tonight’s the night!”

            “Good God, this plan is worse than the ones you made as a kid,” Plagg murmured, letting his face fall into his hands. He then took a few seconds to look up at God.

            Adrien glared at him. “Yah, yah; I heard that. And no, this will be fine. We’re older now; I want to give it another go.” Adrien said definitively.

            “Give what another go?” Plagg snickered. “You passed the road to LadyNoir land a while ago.”

            Adrien rolled his eyes. “L’amour.” Adrien whispered as he leaned close to Plagg and waggled his eyebrows up and down.

            Plagg hissed at Adrien. “You’re disgusting, kid.”

            Adrien held out his hand to Plagg. “As always. You ready to transform Plagg?”

            Plagg sighed as he stepped onto Adrien’s hand. “I guess,” he sighed.

            “Plagg! Transform me!” Adrien called. The black leather crawled across his skin and stretched pleasurably across his skin. He grabbed his wallet from his bedside table and shoved it into one of his pockets. He took a quick glance into one of his mirrors in the bathroom. He smoothed his hair down as much as he could, then decided it would be fine. _Ladybug has seen me through my awkward teen phase; I’m sure she won’t hate me for not having perfect hair._ Chat Noir jumped onto the sill of his bathroom window and carefully crawled out. With a giddy smile, Chat Noir took to the roofs of Paris.

            After only a few minutes flight, Chat Noir landed cat-like on one of the roofs to the palace surrounding the Louvre pyramid. He was alone on top of the roof. He checked the clock on his baton and found that he still had a few minutes before it was 2 ‘o’ clock. He knew to never expect Ladybug on time, or early, so he decided to let his legs dangle a little off the roof.

            He and Ladybug had decided on their regular meeting place at the palace when the two were still kids. They had looked around for a while before settling on the palace that he now sat on. He smiled as he remembered why.

            _“We can’t have our meeting place at the bakery, Chat. It’s too public.” Ladybug complained. “We need somewhere where it’s private._

_Chat raised his eyebrows. “What? So we can have some secret, alone time?” Chat waggled his eyebrows. Ladybug just shoved him away._

_“You’re terrible, Chat. No, that’s not the reason for it; however it would be nice to just talk without people recording us.” Ladybug paused for a moment. “But the real reason is to have a headquarters where we can meet if anything ever goes wrong,” Ladybug finished definitively._

_“I get that,” Chat agreed, becoming more serious. They landed on top of the roof to the Louvre to pause and think before continuing. The two sat on the edge of the roof, letting their legs dangle off the edge._

_Chat tuned out slightly as Ladybug started to list what they needed for the perfect spot. She had already listed it about eighteen times already that night, so Chat believed he could tune out for just this once. But as Ladybug ranted on and on, Chat started to grow antsy. At first he started to twitch his legs, then sway a little side to side. Then he finally gave up. After watching Ladybug carefully, analyzing her movements, he pounced._

_Ladybug squawked at the sudden movement from her partner. They both crashed onto the roof. Chat landed on top of Ladybug with the craziest grin. Chat purred happily at how he had gotten her attention. Ladybug growled up at him. “I was in a middle of a sentence, Chat! You could have gotten my attention by, I don’t know, talking to me!? This is ridiculous.” Ladybug put her hands on her hips. Chat just grinned. He leaned his head against Ladybug’s neck and purred. Chat heard Ladybug’s breath hitch, then a giggle escaped._

_Chat popped up, a little scared. Ladybug was covering her mouth and some of her beautifully pink cheeks with eyes wide, staring up at him. Neither of them were expecting that response. They lay there just staring at each other in shock; neither knowing what to do. Finally Chat let out a chuckle and bit his lip slightly, making Ladybug’s cheeks redden even deeper._

_“I think we should stay here,” Chat whispered low enough for only Ladybug to hear. “This should be our place, you know for emergencies and stuff,” Chat explained. “I mean it has everything you wanted. It’s quiet and out of view. If we weren’t, someone would have heard us by now.”_

_Ladybug nodded dumbly. “Good,” Chat whispered as he crawled off of Ladybug. He resumed his seat by the edge of the roof. A few seconds later, Ladybug joined him. Softly and quietly she placed her hand inside his. “Yeah, I think this can do,” she murmured._

“Hey, what’cha doing daydreaming cat?” came Ladybug stern voice. Chat was pulled out of his memories, and he gazed into Ladybug’s fiery gaze.

            “Waiting for you, My Lady. You’re a little late,” Chat teased. Ladybug shook her head.

            “Yeah, well it’s my thing. I never arrive on time; you know that.” Ladybug joined Chat on the rooftop ledge and leaned back on her outstretched arms.

            “So what’s the game plan, Bugaboo?” Chat asked nonchalantly glancing into her eyes.

            “I think we will need to circuit the whole of Paris, today…. Sorry.” Ladybug gave Chat an apologetic smile. They both dreaded the days when they had to check the whole of Paris because there was always more trouble, and they never had time to catch up.

            Chat waved the apology away. “It’s alright. It has to be done.”

            Ladybug continued: “And that means we need to split up and search pretty much every inch of Paris. We haven’t done it for a while, so I guess it’s better to do it sooner than later.” Ladybug gave Chat another look. “Sound good to you?”

            Chat nodded, emotionless. _So much for the wooing plan_ , Chat thought miserably. “Yeah; sounds good. See you in about three hours?”

            Ladybug nodded conformation. “Yep. Three hours. We’ll meet back here. Call me if you find you’re going to take longer. I’ll do the same if it happens to me,” Ladybug planned as if she was setting up a business deal. “See ya?”  Ladybug got up and turned around to offer to help Chat up. Chat accepted her hand up.

            “Yeah, see ya,” Chat replied, smiling weakly. Ladybug gave him a worried look, but Chat just waved her worry aside. “I’ll be fine, Mother hen.” Chat joked. Ladybug rolled her eyes then soared off.

            Chat Noir sighed sadly and started his patrol. It was going to be a long night.

000

            Patrol took longer than expected. Paris’ trouble makers seemed to think the superheroes would take a day off because of the faire. They were sorely wrong. And sore, Chat became.

            He ran back to the roofs of the Louvre Palace, but at a slightly slower pace than usual. He found Ladybug there as well, and she seemed same, if not more worn out.

            “Tougher than we thought, wasn’t it,” Chat grunted as he let his body crumple beside Ladybug. It took all of his effort to keep his spine straight-ish. Ladybug leaned against him.

            “Yeah, you said it…” she mumbled. They sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s warmth in the cool, night air. “I think I’m gonna have to go home, Chat. I’m going to have to recharge.”

            Chat Noir immediately popped up. “You can’t go home yet!” Ladybug gave him a quirk of the eyebrow at his sudden outburst. “The evening has just begun! We can’t go home when there’s a faire going on!”

            Ladybug sighed tiredly. “Chat…” she whined. “I need to go home.”

            “Then go home,” Chat replied excitedly. “There you can recharge, and then meet me here in about an hour for the night of your life. “ Chat waggled his eyebrows as he leaned down into Ladybug’s face. “How does that sound?” he asked, excitedly.

            Ladybug blew a breath of air into his face, making his bangs fly up. “I don’t know Chat…”

            Chat gave Ladybug a little kitten look. “Pawlease!!!!”

            Ladybug grunted and looked away. “You know that’s not going to help,” she commented.

            “Please,” Chat tried again. “We can take it easy! I just want to see you. We haven’t talked in ages.”

            Ladybug huffed and looked back at Chat with a glare. “Three hours, that is my deal. Give me an hour by myself to reenergize, then I’ll give you three hours of my time. Got it?”

            Chat grinned eagerly. “Deal!”

            Ladybug snatched her yoyo from her belt and slid the ring onto her finger. “See you soon, Chat. And try to contain your excitement,” Ladybug smiled softly at Chat before whizzing off.

            Chat smirked. _That’s right. I just scored a date without really meaning to. Booya!!!_

000

            “Here, take this,” Chat pulled out a bulky pad of cloth and handed it to Ladybug before pulling out his own.

            Ladybug looked skeptically at the bright red sweatshirt and jeans. “What are these?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

            Chat Noir grinned as he pulled on his set of jeans and t-shirt. “They’re our clothes for going _incognito_.” Chat Noir threw on his black hood and waved his hands in front of him, making moaning noises like a ghost. “See?” he asked, impatiently.

            Ladybug still looked skeptical as she pulled on the pants and hoodie. “Is this really necessary? It’s kind of stupid. We’re Ladybug and Chat Noir, we don’t need to go undercover,” she explained looking very small but powerful in Chat’s hoodie.

            “I mean do you want the tabloids to get the juicy ‘LadyNoir’ date? Or not?” Chat countered.

            Ladybug’s face crinkled in disgust. “That is true, I guess you’re right. It would appear that way, wouldn’t it.”

            “That’s why I’m here, My Lady. Always at your service.” Chat made an act of his bow and leaned down to kiss Ladybug’s hand. She let him, but then flicked his nose gently.

            “Come on, Kitty. Let’s ride some rides!” Ladybug joined her hand with his and led him onto the roofs of Paris. As they reached the entrance to the faire, they popped down onto a street, or more an alleyway, and made their way into the faire.

            Ladybug payed for their tickets (much to Chat Noir’s despair), and they packed themselves into the already crazy atmosphere of the faire. The two of them skipped right past the food trucks as something beautiful caught their eye. It was the Middleport Murder Machine. Both Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s eyes lit up in wonder at its sight. It was an infamous roller coaster that had the reputation of weeding out the weak. It was dark purple and the rails of the coaster flipped and turned, and even threw the riders into the air only to catch them upside down. “We’ve gotta do it,” Chat whispered in awe. He eagerly tugged Ladybug’s hand and they both jumped into line.

            Throughout their wait they shared exciting facts they knew about the ride. When it was finally their turn, they quickly strapped themselves to the front seats.

            “I can’t believe we’re doing this!” Ladybug exclaimed giddily. The ride putted its way up the first hill and both of the superheroes’ adrenaline rose as they reached the peak.

            “Wow, we’re really coasting,” Chat said sarcastically.

            “Shut up.” Ladybug wacked Chat Nori then grabbed his arm tightly.

            “Wouldn’t it be funny if they just made us go backwards?” Chat Noir pondered. Not a moment later, the rollercoaster decided to do just that. The whole ride would have been terrifying enough to go through forwards, but backwards was death.

            The time finally came for the end of the ride. As some ran off to go puke, others had to be pried off their seats. However, Ladybug and Chat Noir were perfectly happy staying in their seats grinning. “Do you want to do it again?” a tentative worker asked them, and they both nodded ‘yes’ vigorously.

            “Alright?...” The teenager said as he flicked the switch to turn on the ride. “Loonies,” he mumbled as he watched them sky rocket off; both of them with the widest grins on their faces.

000

            “Gosh, that was the most exhilarating ride I have ever gone on!” Ladybug exclaimed, chowing down on an ice cream cone, walking side by side with Chat down the main street of the faire. “I don’t understand why others wouldn’t want to go on it?”

            “I know, right?” exclaimed Chat. “It looked so scary to go on, but once you’ve gotten past the first hill, it’s bliss.” The two of them walked closely down one of the side streets of the faire. In the distance they could catch a glimpse of the Eiffel tower to one side. To the other side of them, the glimmering lights were coming from the Notre Dame of Paris. The sun had begun to set and the street lamps were just turning on with their little, silent clicks.

            “It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?” Chat murmured, leaning close to Ladybug’s ear. She nodded, entranced in the lights around them. As they continued walking, their eyes caught sight of a whole several booths full of prizes and games. “Care to play one?” asked Chat Noir, gesturing to the one closest to them; a game of shooting down akumas. It was like it was made for the two of them. “I bet I can beat you at this one,” Chat added.

            Ladybug gave him a look. “You’re on Kitty.” Ladybug strode up to the manager of the small booth. “My friend and I would like to take a go. How much?” Ladybug payed the required amount and picked up the ladybug decorated gun. “You ready to get your tushie whooped?” Ladybug challenged. Chat just winked.

            “The pleasure would be all mine.” Chat smirked and picked up the Chat Noir inspired gun.

            The manager stood back and called: “Alright, get ready, set…GO!”

            Ladybug and Chat Noir brought up their gun simultaneously and started shooting at the akumas in front of them.

            “Oh I am so GONNA BEAT YOU!” Ladybug hollered as she shot round after round of pellets at the akumas. The tiny, little cardboard butterflies fell out of the sky as soon as they were launched into it.

            “I DON’T THINK SO!” Chat called back, shooting just as much as his lady was. Within moments a buzzer rang, declaring a winner.

            “Congratulations to both of you!” the manager called. “Both of you won, which is a record in and of itself. But you two also broke the record of pellets per minute! Here.” The manager reached behind his desk and pulled out two plushies. The stuffed toy that they were given was a black cat with a ladybug on its nose. “Congratulations you two; you deserve these.”

            Ladybug and Chat Noir took the prizes gratefully, blushing slightly from the attention. “Thank you,” they murmured, and walked away.

            “That was unexpected,” Ladybug laughed.

            “No kidding. Who would have guessed we would have both won and both gotten the highest score,” Chat exclaimed.

            “I guess that’s the reason why we were chosen to be Ladybug and Chat Noir. We’re just that in sync.” Ladybug laughed again, and Chat Noir joined in.

            For the next few minutes they walked silently beside each other, their plushies rubbing against one another. They came upon the end of the street and found themselves in front of a large dancing group. They watched the group for a little while, entranced in the footwork of the group as they danced perfectly to “Footloose”.

            Chat looked around them a little bit, seeing many civilians that he had seen daily because of the akuma attacks. He froze as he spied some of his classmates. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to see some of his friends; it was just that he wasn’t exactly Adrien at that moment. Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien spied a tall building with a hidden, but flat roof. There was a long alley beside it, making the place perfect for a getaway.

            Chat Noir leaned close to Ladybug’s ear. “What do you say we escape?” He stayed close to Ladybug’s head, breathing in her shampoo. Within seconds he pushed himself away, giving her some space. He then focused on her eyes. They were focused on his and reflected the beautiful night sky above them. Chat Noir had to tear his attention away from her once again when she responded.

            “Sure, what do you have in mind?” Ladybug asked tentatively.

            Chat Noir was enraptured in her gaze again as he winked. “Just wait and see, My Lady.” Chat Noir slid his hand into Ladybug’s and pulled her towards the alley at the side of the ideal building. Surprising Ladybug, he reached his arm around her waist and held her to him as he started to scale the wall. She pushed away from his chest to keep a little distance between them, but let him carry her up. When they reached the top, Chat gently placed his lady up on the roof before following her. “Welcome to the getaway!” Chat Noir called softly, gesturing to the roof around them. He sat on the edge of the roof and beckoned Ladybug over. “This way we can still be part of the festival without having to be with too many prying eyes,” Chat explained.

            Ladybug bumped against his shoulder. “Thank you.” The two turned to stare at the group of dancers below them, or Ladybug, at least, turned to stare. Chat just stayed gazing at Ladybug. Ladybug turned towards Chat to comment about something, but as she turned, she found his face within inches of hers. She paused for a split second before pushing him back. “What are you doing staring at me like that, Chat? The view’s down there.” Ladybug pointed to the street below.

            “I’d have to disagree with you, My Lady,” Chat said, softly. Chat lifted his hand onto her shoulder and smiled. Ladybug turned her head, still questioning Chat’s motive. Chat laughed. “What? Did I take you by surprise, my lady, with my hungry eyes?” he joked. Ladybug only choked.

            Ladybug folded her arms in front of her once she got control of her breathing again. “You are ridiculous.”

            “That is one of my many middle names.” Chat smiled back at her with a cheesy smile, which she only rolled her eyes at.

            A new song started to play from the street below, keeping everyone moving. Chat sat silently beside Ladybug just watching and listening to the dancers as they moved to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” Being the conniving cat that he was, Chat’s eyes sparkled as an idea popped into his mind.

            He started popping his shoulders up and down to the beat of the song, slowly gaining enthusiasm. He rocked back and forth in his seat, bumping his partner every once in a while.

            Ladybug turned to him with a teasing glare poised on her face. “What is up with you?” She asked, watching as her partner slowly grew momentum to his dance moves.

            He merely shook his head at her question and started to sing to the words of the song. “Clock strikes, upon the hour, and the sun begins to fade. Still enough time…to figure out how to chase my blues away!” Chat’s hands flitted at the imaginary blues, and he winked at Ladybug. “I’ve done alright. Up. To. Now. It’s the light of day that shows me how. And when the night falls…” Chat Noir leaned close to Ladybug and whispered: “My lonely heart calls…”

            He bounced up from his position before Ladybug could take a whack at him, and danced into the center of the flat roof. He spun around and around, showing off as he sang. “I wanna dance with somebody! I wanna feel the HEAT of somebody… Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody! With. Somebody. Who loves me!” Chat Noir pirouetted over to Ladybug and bowed. Ladybug couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows, however Chat could detect the slightest smile peeking out from her lips.

            “Training for the ballet, are we Chat?” she joked, crinkling her eyes in a smile. Chat sent her a flirty smile and reached out a hand towards her, silently telling her to join him. Ladybug shook her head profusely. “No, no, no, no! I don’t dance. Don’t even think, AH!” Ladybug yelped as Chat grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He smoothly spun her around before pulling her into his arms at a safe distance. Ladybug tripped into the spins and landed with her face in his chest. “See,” she mumbled into his leather-clad chest. “I have about five billion left feet.” Ladybug didn’t bother raising her head, as she knew her blush would look like a third degree burn by now.

            Chat’s chuckles resonated through his chest. “That’s fine. It does take practice.” Chat pulled her away from his chest and lightly tapped her chin to tilt her face up. “Let me teach you.” Chat smiled gently and linked both of their hands together. He pulled one arm closer to him and pushed another away as he nudged one of Ladybug’s legs back. Just like a middle school dance, the two awkward superheroes rocked back and forth, stumbling every so often with their hands linked together.

            “I’ve been in love, and lost my senses spinning through the town. Sooner or later, the fever ends, and I wind up feeling down,” Chat sang loud enough that the whole of Paris could hear him right now, making Ladybug only roll her eyes yet again. He let go of one of her hands and spun her around with the other. Her laugh carried as she twirled round and round, finally bumping into Chat; almost knocking him over. “I need a woman who’ll take the chance on a love that burns! Hot enough to last…so when the night. Falls…My lonely heart calls…”

            Ladybug was slowly growing confidence and now easily twirled elegantly around in Chat’s arms. Towards the end of the song, Ladybug broke away from Chat’s hands to show him a few of the grandpa moves she had learned from her father. She showed Chat moves like the sprinkler, the running man, the worm, and the shopping cart. They were laughing and falling over each other as they attempted the Roger Rabbit. The song finally ended in a tangle of limbs on the floor. Both of them lay wheezing on the floor, not bothering to get up quite yet.

            “Oh God, why was that so tiring?” Ladybug asked, exasperated.

            “I have no idea why,” Chat responded. He wearily pulled himself up. He held out a hand to help Ladybug up. She took it gratefully. People clapped below them as the song ended and another one began. It was slower and started very peacefully. From what he could see, Chat noticed that couples were joining arms for this dance.

            “I think I’m done,” Ladybug announced. She bent down to sit again, but Chat kept her up.

            “C’mon, one more song?” Chat looked at Ladybug with big, sad eyes. “Please????”

            Ladybug rolled her eyes. “You are ridiculous, and a bad influence.” Ladybug let Chat lead her once again toward the center of the roof. He placed one of her hands onto the top of his shoulder as he placed one of his hands on the small of her back. He pulled her closer to him as he pulled both of their free hands together.

            Chat smiled at the light dusting of blush peppering Ladybug’s cheeks as he started to sing. “No I’ve…had…the time of my life…No I never, felt, this way before. Yes I swear…It’s the truth…and I owe it all to you…” The voice of the female singer blasted through the speakers and Chat looked expectantly at ladybug. She promptly rolled her eyes, but allowed for her mouth to open.

            “Cause I’ve…had…the time of my life! And I owe it all to you…” Ladybug sang so quietly Chat could barely hear it. The music started to ramp up and Chat slowly started to coax Ladybug into dancing as he rocked his hips from side to side and nudged her to move with his hips.

            “I’ve been waiting for so long. Now I’ve finally found someone who’ll stand by me,” Chat huskily whispered He spun Ladybug around and gracefully caught her in their original position so they could keep going.

            Ladybug smirked at Chat’s antics, but played along. “We saw the writing on the wall as we felt this magical fantasy!” The two of them rocked back and forth to the beat of the music and Chat was very surprised to find Ladybug rocking her hips beneath his fingertips.

            “Now with passion in our eyes, there’s no way we could disguise it secretly,” they sang together. “So we take each other’s hand cause we seem to understand the urgency!” Chat let go of Ladybug’s waist and decided to just connect their hands. Like synchronized swimmers, the two moved their hands up and down in the air. Ladybug was the first to let go, but she winked back at him as she danced like she was doing the samba by herself.

            “Just remember…” Chat sang softly.

            “You’re the one thing,” Ladybug sang back.

            “I can’t get enough of,” he continued, following her receding figure with his own dance moves.

            “So I’ll tell you something…” Ladybug pointed at Chat then curled her finger towards herself. He merely just opened his arms, inviting her to come back.

            “This could be love because!” Ladybug ran the short distance between her and her partner into his arms. Chat wound his arms around her waist and hoisted her up against his torso. She spread her legs out in a split as he spun her around. The years of akuma chasing had built up Adrien’s muscle and he was easily able to keep Ladybug hoisted against him. Ladybug laced her arms around his neck as they twirled and twirled. Their eyes couldn’t break away from each other, and time seemed to stand still.

            “I’ve had! The time of my life! No I never felt this way before. Yes I swear! It’s the truth. And I owe it all to you!” Chat finally let Ladybug touch the ground again, but he held on to her, and she let him. They spun round and around as the song continued.

            The song hit the dance break, and the two elegantly meshed ballroom dancing with their old grandpa moves. It was a sight to be seen. Even with being entranced with Ladybug, Chat couldn’t but help notice Ladybug’s voice when she sang. It was so light and cheerful, but Adrien couldn’t help but be reminded of Marinette. She even looked a little like Marinette, come to think of it. _Ladybug can’t be Marinette? Can she? No…..Yes?_ Chat pondered as they started to reach the end of the song.

            Ladybug spun out of his arms, but their hands never lost contact. She spun back a little too fast and she fell into him just as the song got quiet. Both of them blushed as they realized how close they were, but neither made the move to separate them. Instead, Chat continued to sing. “Cause I’ve......had…the time…of my life…No I’ve never….felt…like this before......Yes I swear…it’s…the truth……” Chat grinned nervously as he bent closer to Ladybug. “And I owe it all to you!” Chat laid a quick kiss on Ladybug’s cheek and spun her away again, only to recapture her in his arms. The song ended softly, just like it began. Ladybug smiled at Chat softly. It was quite for a long time as they just stood there, gazing.

            “Thank you for the night, Chat.” Ladybug squeezed his hand before letting go. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she looked down at the ground beneath her.“See you at the next patrol?” she asked as she unhooked her yoyo from her belt from under Chat’s sweatshirt that she was still wearing.

            Chat smiled tiredly. “Yah, see you then.” He watched as she flew off into the sunset. He put his hands into his pocket and turned away. A small smile grew on his face and suddenly Chat jumped up into the air, pumping his arms up and down. _That is how you do it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Here is the next chapter for the day! This was one of my favorite chapters to write because LadyNoir is my favorite ship. I hope you liked the chapter as much as I did. Thank you again for reading my story. Until I write again, TTFN!


	10. We Are the Champions

            It was a quiet morning. Marinette sat on her couch sipping her black coffee in her Hello Kitty mug. She watched, bleary eyed, out her windows to her balcony as the sun crested the rooftops of Paris. Marinette was huddled under a fuzzy Ladybug blanket with her night sewing beside her.

            She inhaled deeply, the scent of her very strong coffee. The whiff managed to wake Marinette up a tiny amount. _This is why I chose a job that does not start at dawn,_ Marinette thought. The thoughts seeped through her mind like mud. Marinette was startled from her coffee trance by a loud knocking coming from her bathroom. She shook her head as the knocking stopped. _I’m probably imagining it._ She sipped from her coffee again, dismissing the knocking. Only when the knocking reoccurred did Marinette grudgingly get up to check what the hell was going on. Keeping the coffee close to her chest, Marinette shuffled to her bathroom, where the knocking was coming from. “What.” Marinette asked irritably.

            “Oh! Hi! I was wondering if you had some coffee? I ran out of mine, and I thought: hey, I have a neighbor! She seems like a  person who would have coffee! So here I thought I’d ask! Do you have some coffee?” Adrien exclaimed excitedly.

            Marinette just blinked at her shower wall, not quite believing his cheery mood this early in the morning.

            “Kikster?” Adrien asked, a little worried. “You still there? Marinette?”

            “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Coffee…me have. Can come over…you…” Marinette mumbled, shuffling out of the room.

            By the time Marinette got to opening up her front door, Adrien was already there with his bright, blue pajamas and cheery smile. He looked like he’d been up for at least three hours. _That should not be normal,_ Marinette thought to herself.

In normal circumstances Marinette would not be able to comprehend anything with Adrien’s bedhead in her line of vision, but thankfully she noticed none of it in her sleep deprived state. Wordlessly she waved Adrien in with a hand wave and a nod.

            Adrien grinned merrily down at Marinette and attempted to start a conversation with her, but she growled at him and led him to her kitchen. The dark aroma coming from her coffee maker filled her kitchen completely. Adrien stood there politely as Marinette set down her cup and reached into one of her cupboards to pull out another cup for him. Marinette poured the coffee carefully into each cup like she was pouring precious, molten gold. “Suga..? Marinette asked as she handed Adrien the large cup of coffee.

            “Yes Princess?” Adrien replied, grabbing the cup carefully.

            Marinette cocked her head sleepily and raised an eyebrow at Adrien. “Sugar…Do you want sugar?” Marinette asked, annunciating each word carefully.

            “Oh!” Adrien’s face burned a bright red as he finally understood what Marinette wanted to say. “Yeah,…Uh yeah I would like some sugar, please.” Adrien watched as Marinette handed him the pot that contained the sugar. Adrien set down his coffee and carefully poured two spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee and stirred.

            With each sip of coffee, Marinette started to wake up a little more. As she became more aware, Marinette’s brain started to take hold of the situation.

            She was standing in her kitchen with her neighbor, Adrien. He was drinking coffee out of one of her cups because he didn’t have coffee in his own flat. Now they were just standing there in silence. _I should probably invite him to sit down,_ Marinette mused. _You are such a dim-whit._

 Marinette coughed a little, startling Adrien. “Umm…Would you like to come sit down?” Marinette pointed to her living room.

            Adrien nodded sunnily. “Yeah, thanks.” Silently the two walked out and sat on the small couch, enjoying the view while simultaneously trying not to sit too close to each other. “You have a beautiful view,” Adrien murmured. Marinette hummed in response and drank her coffee. Adrien chuckled. “You’re not a morning person, are you?”

            Marinette threw her hands up in mock defeat. “Oh no! You’ve got me!” She laughed sleepily. “I am not a morning person at all. I am much more of a night owl. I can stay up all night to finish a project and only sleep when I’m at work, which I probably shouldn’t do come think of it.” Adrien laughed at her description. Marinette shifted her hand position on her coffee cup. “What? You don’t believe me? Well you better believe that I’m like a zombie trudging through molasses if I don’t have my coffee.”

            Adrien only laughed harder. When he got control, he was able to choke out: “No I’ve seen you…and that is a perfect description. I’ve seen it with my dad too. He is so hilarious! It must be a fashion thing.”

            “No!…Really?” Marinette asked in disbelief.

            Adrien shook his head. “I kinda wish I was, but I have to admit that it is hilarious.” Adrien took another sip of his coffee. “I am the complete opposite. I love mornings…”

            “I can tell,” Marinette added, pushing him away slightly, pushing away the warm feeling it created.

            Adrien gave her a dirty look, but continued. “Anyway, I love to wake up early to see the sunrise and hear the birds just waking up. I love seeing the beginnings of the day. At night, I swear I’m definitely a different person. I am usually so tired I literally have no filter. It’s a problem,” Adrien stressed.

            Marinette shook her head, laughing. “It’s not a problem at all. But it’s a nice device to use on you. Thank you for mentioning it.” Marinette grinned cheekily at him. It now was Adrien’s turn to push Marinette away.

            “God I thought we were friends,” Adrien scoffed, turning away from Marinette to smile, which she caught easily from the corner of her eye.

            “I see you smiling.” Marinette laughed. “You know you want me to use that nugget of knowledge against you. Hmm?” She raised one of her eyebrows; eyes sparkling.

            Adrien was quiet for a second as he met her stare steadily. “Yeah…” he whispered, his voice catching. Marinette’s cheeks bloomed a bright red and she reeled herself back in. Adrien took a step back as well.

            It was quiet for only a moment as Adrien sniffed deeply, and then coughed. “You need to shower, missy,” Adrien said jokingly and the weird mood dropped as Marinette set down her coffee and put her hands on her hips.

            “Well you don’t smell too good yourself, mister, so don’t even start.” Marinette reprimanded. She pulled her blanket from earlier and laid it across her lap. She then promptly turned away from Adrien, pointedly staring out the window.

            Adrien turned as red as the blanket at the sight of it. He just stared at it for several minutes before getting a hold of himself. He smirked a little as he asked: “Is that my blanket?”

            Marinette fiddled with her hands and hid her face. “No, of course not,” she muttered.

            Adrien curled his lips inward in an attempt to hide his smile. “Umm. I think it is…..You stole it.”

            Marinette turned coldly towards him. “No….I did not steal it…You just happened to accidently give it to me.” Marinette’s head wobbled from side to side as she tried to phrase her words in the right way.

            Adrien let out a genuine laugh. “I really don’t care, Mari. If you want to keep it, it’s fine by me.” He petted the corner of the blanket as a sign of farewell to his blanket.

            Adrien drained the last dregs of the coffee into his mouth, licking his lips in satisfaction. Adrien moved himself to the edge of the couch and made to get up. “Well, it looks like I’d better get showered. Thank you for the coffee. It was much appreciated.” Adrien got up and dropped his cup off at the kitchen after he offered to take Marinette’s cup. She handed it to him gratefully.

            She followed him to the kitchen and pointed to the sink, where he could drop off the cups.

            Adrien reached the front door easily but lingered. “Shower time, right? Care to join me?” Adrien smiled at Marinette and noticed she went bright red. He may have made a small mistake in his phrasing. “Oh, NO! That’s not what I meant! I don’t want you to actually…um, no. I was just wondering if you would like to do the normal…singing…thing…....?”

            Marinette coughed. “Yeah, sorry. I knew what you meant, but I just…..Sure. That sounds great.” Marinette closed the door behind Adrien and let out a large, pent up breath. “That was unexpected,” Marinette whispered to no one in particular, and then hauled herself to her bathroom.

            Adrien had already found his way to his own bathroom and had beaten Marinette in getting out he music. Therefore Marinette figured that they were going to be listening to some interesting songs.

            “How are you, partner?” Adrien called over his rather loud and poppy bass of “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon.

            “Little salty I didn’t get music choice today,” Marinette called back, shedding off her clothes.

            “Oh, so spoiled,” Adrien joked back. “You got it last time.” Adrien turned the music up a little bit, drowning out the beat of water against the shower basin.

            “We were victims of the night. The chemical. Physical! Kryptonite! Helpless to the bass and the fading light. Oh we were bound to get together! BOUND TO GET TOGETHER!” They both sang. Marinette stepped into her shower, letting the water pour away everything as the music did the same.

            “She took my arm. I don’t know how it happened! We took the floor and she said: Oh don’t you dare look back. Just keep your eyes on me. I said you’re holding back. She said: SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME! This woman is my destiny. She said  ooh ooh! Shut up and dance with me!” Marinette hummed the instrumental interlude as she bunched shampoo between her hair follicles. She was slowly and steadily waking up more and more. The words to the song reminded her of her assertiveness that she normally has with Chat Noir. She smiled at the memories that flooded her mind, although she cleared away the memories of some of the weak points. Chat sometimes just had a different effect on her.

            “A backless dress, and some beat up sneaks. My discotheque Juliet. Teenage Dream! I felt it in my chest as she looked at me. I knew we were BOUND TO BE TOGETHER! BOUND TO BE TOGETHER!” Then Marinette was reminded of Adrien. His soft looks. His unruly hair. Those bright, bright eyes. His caring personality. His chivalrousness. His beautiful, true smile. All things he had shown to her. All things that made her feel like she was fifteen again. Marinette quickly shook herself so she wouldn’t accidently get soap in her eye for her carelessness.

            “SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME!” The two of them sang for the last time. The song ended with just one, small guitar riff, but was soon followed up by the beginning of  “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars.

            “AH YEAH!” Adrien cried excitedly as he started to imitate the voices in the beginning of the song.

            Marinette just shook her head. “Where do I meet people like you?” she exclaimed, exasperated.

            “Apparently in the shower,” Adrien replied with a laugh. Marinette stuck her tongue out at him even though she could not see him. “Hey I know you’re sticking your tongue out at me. Now stop. You know better, Miss Kiki” Adrien called out, making Marinette pout.

            “This hit. That ice cold. Michelle Pheiffer. That white gold. This one for them hood girls. Them good girls, straight masterpieces! Stylin’. Whilin, livin’ it up in the city. Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent. Got kiss myself, I’m so pretty. OW!” Adrien sang by himself. Marinette could just imagine him prancing around his shower, bobbing his head to the rhythm.

            “I’m too hot!” Adrien called, silently asking for Marinette to answer him. She didn’t.

            He tried again. “Called a police and a fireman. I’m TOO HOT!” He hit the wall gently when Marinette, once again, didn’t respond. “C’mon, please!”

            Marinette huffed but silently agreed to do it.

            “I’m too hot!” Adrien called.

            “Hot damn,” Marinette said in her most monotone voice. She could almost hear Adrien’s disappointment as he continued.

            “Say my name you know who I am !” Adrien sang. In a very low voice, Marinette called out Adrien’s name, making him stop.

            “Ok, now you just need to stop,” Adrien complained. Marinette just giggled.

            “Girls hit your hallelujah OOOOH! Girls hit your hallelujah OOOOH! Cause Uptown Funk gonna give it to ya!” Both Adrien and Marinette sang, finishing up with their showers.

            As the two of them got out of the shower, the song changed for the last time to “We Are the Champions” by Queen.

            “Now this, is music,” Marinette commented, turning off her shower head. She reached outside her shower curtain and grasped her towel. Carefully she stepped out and wrapped the soft towel around her body. The soft and melodic vocals played in the background as Marinette got dry and started pulling on her work clothes.

            “I’ve paid my dues…Time after time…I’ve done my sentence, but committed no crime…And bad mistakes…I’ve made a few…I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I’ve come through!”

            “AndIneedjustgo on, and on, and on!” Mari cried as she buttoned up her shirt. The drum beat dropped, and the two of them took a stance and stared up at the ceiling as they sang along. “We!...Are the Champions, my friends…….And we’ll keep on fighting! Til’ the end…We are the champions….WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO time FOR losers! ‘Cause we are the champions…of the world!”

            Marinette’s fingers skated over her hair follicles along with the time of the piano as she pulled her hair into a bun. “I’ve taken my bows…And my curtain calls…You brought me fame and fortune, and everything that goes with it…I thank you all…But it’s been no bed of roses…No pleasure cruise…I consider it a challenge before the whole human race….And I ain’t gonna lose,” Marinette sang dramatically.

            “AndIneedjustgo on, and on, and one, and ON!” Adrien continued in the loudest volume he could muster.

            Marinette popped open her bathroom door to let out some of the steam from her shower. She rested against the frame of the door as she sang to the rest of the song with vigor. She almost laughed at Tikki when she saw her plugging her ears. “We are the champions! My friends…And we’ll! Keep on fighting! ‘Til the end…We are the champions! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO time FOR losers! ‘Cause we are the champions!!! OF THE WORLD!!!!”

            With a click, Adrien turned off his music, but kept on humming the Queen song as he collected his stuff from his bathroom.

            Marinette smiled at the sounds form the other bathroom, and stayed against the frame of the wall. “Did you know my father and I used to sing that as we baked” Marinette mentioned.

            “Really?” Adrien asked in surprise.

            Marinette nodded. “Yeah, we would be working on the most delicate pastries, but we would be belting out the words to this song. And sometimes instead of singing the word ‘Champions’ we would say ‘Chwampions’, making my mother laugh really hard.” Marinette laughed a little, and got a nostalgic look to her eyes. “Those were the days.”

            Adrien got a sad smile on his face. “Yeah, my father and my mum both used to sing this song with me when I was younger, dancing around my parent’s room.”

            “Well…now the two of us have a memory of belting out the words in the shower, annoying all of the neighbors.” The two of them shared a laugh.

            “Hey, do you want to walk to work together?” Adrien asked tentatively.

            Marinette finally gathered up her stuff. “Yeah; sounds like a plan! Meet you in front of our doors in two?”

            “Sounds perfect,” was Adrien’s reply.

            Marinette left the bathroom, flicking off the light switch. She gathered her purse and projects for work, and then called to Tikki.

            “Ready to go, Tikki?” Marinette called. Tikki flew up and into Marinette’s waiting purse. “Alright…got the dress, got Tikki, got coffee…” Marinette started to tick off her imaginary checklist. “And got Mr. Agreste’s form… Ok I think I’ve got everything…” Marinette grabbed her keys and went out of apartment to meet Adrien.

            After she locked her door, she turned around and was met with Adrien offering her something.” Muffin?” he asked.

            Marinette graciously took on of the two in his hands. “Thank you.” They started to walk downstairs, side by side, conversing easily. It had been a few months since their first ‘outing’ (It was a date, who’s kidding who?) and the two were getting along better than ever.

            “How did you learn to bake like this?” Marinette asked cautiously as she bit into the muffin.

            Adrien faked shock. “You didn’t know the rich, little, blonde boy could bake!” He gasped. “Neither did I,” He laughed and Marinette shook her head, hiding her smile. “I only learned to bake from your parents, honestly. The offered to teach me one day and I accepted. NOW I AM A FULL FUNCTIONING ADULT!” Adrien cried to the streets. Marinette just giggled.

            “You are ridiculous.”

            “But I’m your ridiculous,” Adrien replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Marinette pushed him away.

            “That was terrible.”

            Adrien shrugged. “Did you know that your name, Kiki, has literally no puns for it? Isn’t that terrible!?” Adrien exclaimed.

            “I wouldn’t know.” Marinette rolled her eyes, and gave Adrien a questioning look when he stared at her, dumbfounded. “What?” she asked.

            “Oh, it’s nothing…” Adrien replied mysteriously.

            “What? Do I have muffin on my face or something?” Marinette questioned.

            “Maybe…” Adrien said absentmindedly. Marinette started to scrub her face. “No! No, it’s gone now; don’t worry,” Adrien exclaimed.

            The two came upon an intersection and the two stopped. “Well…this is my turn…” Marinette pointed to her right.

            Adrien pointed to his left. “That’s mine.” The two stood there just staring at each other, rocking back and forth on the balls of their feet.

            “Well, I’ll see you.” Marinette said then in a moment of courage, Marinette leaned close to Adrien and gave him the traditional, French farewell. She kissed him lightly on both cheeks then turned away. “Au Revoir!” She called, walking away. She did not even notice how Adrien froze.

            _God I feel so stupid for doing that! I mean it’s normal, but he could not believe in that sort of thing or…_ Marinette stopped herself. _Ok…forget it. Work mode. Death. Cruella Agreste. Fabric. Butterflies. Coffee. No Adrien._ Marinette may have been able to get Adrien out of her brain for a few hours, but Adrien could not for the life of him get Marinette out of his as he walked the rest of the way to the Lycée.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Here is yet another fluffy chapter in the apartment. I hope you liked it. It was nice writing a shower scene without having to remember if I was supposed to call the characters Ladybug, Trouble, or Adrien. It still gets confusing! Lol. Anyway, thank you for reading my story. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	11. What Friends Are For?

            “They saw we are what we are. But we don’t have to be. I’m glad to hate you but I do it in the best way. I’ll be the watcher…of the eternal flame. I’ll be the guard dog…of all your fever dreams!” Adrien sang. He bent down and grabbed his bar of soap and started to wash his body with it.

            Like any morning, Adrien and Marinette were having their morning karaoke. It was finally Adrien’s turn to choose the music, and he had taken advantage of it. Already he had played some old, good hits; a few BTS songs, like Fire and Dope, but also some Broadway tunes as well. Marinette didn’t complain too much. For the last two songs Adrien decided to play some from their favorite’s list (which was pretty much a collection of Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco songs if he was being honest).

                        “I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass…I’ll try to picture me without you but I can’t…Cause we could be immortals!” Adrien sang, pouring conditioner into his hair. He was told once that he was ridiculous with all of the conditioner he uses. His father’s assistant, Natalie, had told him that he was draining the seas with all the water he used for his exuberant amount of showers. _It’s not my fault that I love taking showers. They just calm me down,_ Adrien defended in his own imaginary conversation. He was then, once again reminded of all the cringe memories of being found in the shower by a superhero or an akuma. _And that is why I repress things…_ Adrien laughed to himself.

He pulled himself into reality by picking out some words from the song to focus on.   _I’ll try to picture me without you,…but I can’t…_ Adrien immediately thought of Ladybug. The two superheroes had gotten into the swing of things again in the past year. It was a little different from when they were teenagers because of the mysterious, new villain, but luckily the two hadn’t had a problem working together with ease, even after so many years apart. Adrien had to picture himself without his best friend for years. The only person that truly knew him had disappeared along with the memories of the last battle. Adrien’s vision started to blur and he found he couldn’t make his lungs work. Forcing the acid-like air into his lungs, Adrien forced himself to relax as he took slow and steady breaths as he counted to ten, then twenty.

For a normal young adult, Adrien did not seem like a boy who would even have to think of going to the therapist, but the years of being Chat Noir made him anything but normal. Thanks to the sessions Adrien had learned to breathe without his other half. _But she is back…you didn’t lose her,_ Adrien said to himself. Adrien coughed, then returned to the present.

            “Adrien?...Are you alright?” Marinette called from her shower on the other side of the wall.

            “Yeah, why?” Adrien replied in the most even voice as possible. _I don’t need to bother her with my worries._

“Ok, I just thought for a second that you were having a hard time breathing, but if you’re fine…?” Marinette said tentatively.

            Adrien smiled to himself. _I couldn’t have asked for a more caring friend._ “Yeah, I’m fine. Just swallowed some spit the wrong way, I think…”

            “If you’re sure,” Marinette checked again.

            Adrien laughed. “Yes, I am sure, Mari. How are you?”

            “I’m fine. Same as always, really. Not wanting to go to work. Just want to stay in bed all day,” Marinette complained.

            “You could call in sick?” Adrien proposed. Adrien could practically hear Marinette roll her eyes.

            “You know how bad I am at lying? That added to the fact that in the fashion industry, you better be dead if you call in sick, you can be assured that idea will work out,” Marinette said sarcastically. “So that plan’s a no go.” Marinette sighed. “At least this music is keeping me from crawling back into bed. Although there were a few songs there that made me want to knock myself out,” Marinette joked.

            Adrien let out an outraged scoff. “Oh come on. They weren’t that bad.”

            “Sure. The K-Pop was fine, but that Elton John song was a little much,” Marinette complained with lightness in her voice that helped Adrien fall into the easy rambling of their banters.

            “You know what!? Bennie and the Jets is a classic! Don’t diss the classic!” Adrien defended.

            “The Circle of Life is a classic. Bennie and the Jets is a repetitive catastrophe,” Marinette replied simply.

            Adrien opened and closed his mouth multiple times, attempting to come back with a retort, but only succeeded in making fish noises. “Lost for words, sweetie?” Marinette asked in an innocent voice.

            Adrien glared at his shower wall. “Well you’re wrong,” Adrien countered weakly. Marinette laughed.

            “If that’s the best you’ve got, you are one sad kitten.” Adrien chose to ignore Marinette, and got back to his washing as she continued to cackle.

            An alarm went off on Adrien’s phone, silencing the music and scaring them both. “AKUMA ALERT! AKUMA ALERT!” it repeated over and over again. In the background of their apartments, Adrien could hear Marinette’s phone voicing the same concern. Adrien reached out of his shower; around his curtain to grab his phone. He turned off the alert, but clicked on the notification to see where the threat was coming from. It turned out that the akuma was a few blocks away from their apartment complex, and was heading straight towards them.

            “What is it?” Marinette asked urgently, already turning off her shower head.

            “Akuma Attack. Coming here. We need to get out,” Adrien said shortly. He had already pulled on half of his clothes. He was going to have to deal with the conditioner still stuck in his hair.

 “Why do these things always happen when we’re in the shower,” Marinette muttered, fumbling around for her clothes.

            Adrien took a glimpse out the window of his bathroom. His eyes immediately found the akuma, or what he assumed was. It was unlike any akuma he had ever seen. Most akumas were harmless. The people underneath were usually just having a rough day. This villain seemed to embody Satan himself. There came a deep rumbling form the foundation of their apartments, and both of them gasped loudly as they grabbed onto the nearest wall.

            “We need to get out now,” Marinette ordered. Adrien balled his shirt, socks, and shoes in his fist and let the bathroom door click open so Plagg could enter his pocket as soon as possible.

            Adrien popped open his bathroom window and stood on top of his toilet to give him more leverage to pull himself out. He tumbled onto the fire escape. He had to grab onto the railings because of the rumbling from the villain, which had returned. Marinette was beside him in a wrinkled shirt and pants but otherwise ok. “C’mon, let’s go,” Marinette whispered urgently, pushing Adrien down the step of the fire escape. There were lots of families inside the building, trying to figure a safe way out of the building. _I’m going to have to get them later_ , Adrien planned, hauling himself onto the last rungs of the fire escape with Marinette close behind him. They were so close to the ground when something hit the two of them; breaking them apart. A cloud of lightning bugs shimmered around the two of them, creating almost an invisible layer. Through the crowd of insects Adrien spied the new villain. His suspicions were correct. It was no akuma. It was a new villain.

            Just looking at the boy that stood below, Adrien he could tell that Hawkmoth now looked like a mother hen compared to this. Through the swarm of lightning bugs, Adrien caught a glimpse of the villain’s face. There was no mask hiding the features of the face, only a veil hid the particulars of the face. The villain’s costume looked like it was made of mist and light, like a cool, summer’s night. The one thing that caught Adrien’s attention, through was the expression. The villain looked like he had found a new patch of flowers to pick from for his Granny. It was uncanny to see that smiling face as the villain raised his hands and controlled the fireflies to throw Marinette and Adrien onto the cold, and rough, black pavement. All of Adrien’s skin burned and sparked form contact with the blacktop. The villain said not a word as he switched his attention onto another set of people, his cloud of fireflies following him.

            With a quick glance over to Marinette, to check if she was alright, Adrien decided to sprint to the nearest alleyway and transform. The second the cool leather settled onto his skin, Chat Noir was off. He bounded up a building’s wall and onto a roof to scope things out. He was met, within moments, by Ladybug.

            “What have you seen so far, Chat,” Ladybug commanded, taking charge of the situation.

            “We seem to be facing the new villain behind the recent akuma attacks,” Chat explained, giving his status report. “He seems to have complete control of those fireflies around him, but I have no clue what they do.”

            Ladybug nodded her head. “Sounds about right. That’s all the information I have at the moment too. What do you reckon we should do?” she asked, surveying the scene before them. The villain was just pacing back and forth, calculating his next move.

            “Maybe start with what we usually do. I’ll go closer to him and possibly get him to do something, while you can scope thing out and see how we can bring him down. How’s that?” Chat Noir extended his baton and got ready to lunge into action, but he looked over at Ladybug for conformation.

            Ladybug frowned a little, but nodded her head. “I think that’s the best we can do right now. Let’s go.”

            Chat Noir jumped off the roof and ran towards the villain on all fours. Using the buildings around him for support, he bounced off of them so that he landed right in front of the firefly covered man. “What’cha think you’re doing, Bulb Butt?” Chat Noir sauntered a little closer to the man that stood before him. The veil in front of the man’s face still hid all recognizable features. Chat growled internally. _I also can’t find anything that could possibly hold his powers._

            “Hello Chat Noir!” The villain called, as if he was talking to a relative that he had not seen in a while. “I’m simply walking around town. Isn’t that alright to do?” he asked innocently.

            “Walking around is just fine. But when you start hurting others, then we have a problem.” Chat smiled at the villain, but the smile didn’t meet his eyes.

            “I hurt others?” the villain questioned, gasping loudly. He tilted his head back and lifted his hand to his brow as if he were going to faint like a maiden. The fireflies copied his movements. “Did I really hurt others?” he cried. “But I do not see them? Where is your evidence?” The villain smirked, making his boyish innocence disappear.

            Chat Noir knew Adrien was gone, but didn’t realize until he took a quick glance around that Marinette was also gone. _Dammit_.

            The villain’s face curled with satisfaction, and Chat saw his eyes that he knew something that Chat mostly did not.

            “Let’s play a game, Kitty,” The man giggled. “A little game of cat and mouse.”

            Chat Noir painted a face of enjoyment for the villain as he started to plan. Ladybug was in the top left of his vision and was giving him directions. He understood them perfectly. “I believe you mean a game of Cat and Bug.” Chat Noir turned on his heel and started to sprint. Ladybug was close behind in a matter of moments. The villain was closer.

            Chat Noir scaled his apartment building, jumping from balcony to balcony. Ladybug did the same. “We need to separate him from his fireflies,” Ladybug whispered to Chat once they reached the top of the building. “Only then can I see where he’s getting his powers…I think?”

            “Ok. I’ll create a diversion for him,” was Chat’s reply. Ladybug threw her yoyo at a nearby building and swung to it. “Hey!” Chat Noir yelled at the creature below. “You wanted to play the game, right? Well here’s your cat!” Chat Noir smirked as he saw the villain do nothing. _He can’t fly. He has a weakness. Finally!_

            That is when the villain decided to show off a little. Just like Mr. Pigeon, the man was lifted into the air by his fireflies. Chat Noir’s jaw dropped as the villain met him at eye level. “Surprise?” The villain cackled with a sickly sweet voice. Chat Noir extended his baton and leaped, only to be caught by a cloud of fireflies.

            “I have caught you, you pretty kitty. Ready for another round?” The villain smirked.

            “Oh I was born ready,” Chat growled and was ready for it when the man dropped him. Chat landed on the roof of the apartment building and he immediately took off running. _I need to get these people out,_ Chat remembered. He jumped into the nearest window and ran through the empty apartment. Once inside, Chat ran from door to door looking for lost people. Once he found a family he helped them out either by hand or depositing them on the fire escape.

            “You can’t hide forever,” The man murmured into the air, making the whole earth rumble. Chat Noir shuddered. He could see Ladybug was getting close to figuring out the villain’s secret. She just had that look in her eye. Chat Noir climbed out the nearest balcony onto the side of the building. He then started to scale it slowly, trying to hide from the villain’s attention for a little bit so he could conserve his energy for when Ladybug needed him. The man with the fireflies was close; Chat could just hear the slight buzzing of the bugs from around the corner. Chat placed his hands and feet into four divots in the brick building and lay flush against it, waiting. At the corner of his eye he watched Ladybug. The firefly man crept closer and closer. Ladybug gave the signal. Chat pounced to the other face of the building, landing himself directly in front of the villain. “Found you,” Chat grinned.

            The man giggled. “Do you know who I am?” He asked as if the two were just having a nice, friendly conversation at the nearest coffee shop.

            “What? The Firefly Butt?” Chat asked, smirking. The fireflies around the man started to pulse; flying out, then in; out then in.

            The man shook his head, and then giggled again. “Oh no. That’s not it at all.” With a sudden movement he jerked his arm and sent all of the fireflies straight towards Chat Noir. Chat Noir leaped from place to place; balcony to balcony, but the fireflies continued to follow him. Chat Noir landed on the balcony to his own apartment and had to pause for the briefest of moments to catch his breath, but to also let the fireflies fly closer. Ladybug was coming.

            Chat Noir leaped away when he deemed that the lightning bugs were close enough but was stopped as the apartment building rumbled and stumbled. Chat nearly broke his neck as he whipped his head back, behind him. The fireflies had crashed into the balcony of his apartment and had destroyed his apartment by turning it to shreds. But the only thing destroyed was his apartment.

            As the fireflies delightfully gnawed away at the wood and carpet of Adrien’s apartment, the man lay against one of the rails of a balcony closest to Chat Noir. “The name’s Luciole. It was nice meeting you Adrien Agreste.” Before Ladybug could even start creeping up on the villain, he disappeared into nothing. Ladybug and Chat Noir were now alone with only rubble between them.

            Ladybug stared at Chat with unblinking eyes. “This is no akuma,” She stated. Chat just shook his head in agreement.

            “How much did you hear?” Chat whispered.

            Ladybug shrugged. “Nothing….why?”

            “Let’s just clean this up.” Chat jumped over to Ladybug and stood by her side as she threw her lucky charm into the air, shouting: “Miraculous Ladybug!”  The bright, red sparkles flitted through the air and fixed everything in its path. However, they seemed to hit a barrior surrounding Adrien’s apartment. Ladybug could not fix the damage done to the apartment.

            “This is no akuma,” Ladybug repeated.

            Chat Noir kicked a brick of rubble. “He only destroyed this apartment,” he murmured.

            “But why?” Ladybug asked once again, joining Chat Noir. “It’s Adrien Agreste’s apartment…Why would…”

            Chat Noir gave Ladybug a funny look. “How do you know that?”

            Ladybug froze. She tucked her hand behind her neck and laughed. “Oh, I…um I know him…in civilian form…and yeah!” Ladybug hopped from foot to foot.

            _Wait I know Ladybug in civilian form! That’s crazy!_ Chat thought to himself, completely missing how uncomfortable Ladybug was acting.

            Ladybug’s miraculous beeped. “Oh it looks like I gotta go. Do you mind dealing with this right now??” Ladybug gestured to the rubble beneath them.

            Chat Noir nodded, blindly. “Sure.”

            Ladybug laid a hand on his shoulder. “Can we meet up tonight to discuss this?” She asked, expecting the answer he gave.

            “Sure,” he replied. He smiled at her reassuringly. She flew away just as her last beeps sounded. Chat Noir kicked the rubble at his feet. “Shit,” whispered Chat Noir.

000

            “Shit,” Adrien muttered, staring at the wreckage that used to be his apartment. He had just finished talking to his landlord about his slight little problem. He was going to have to get everything rebuilt, but it would take quite a little while. That meant having to find somewhere else to live for a while.

            There was no way in hell that he’d move in with his dad again. He guessed he could probably crash at Nino’s place, but Nino’s place wasn’t in Paris. It was a few hours away.

            Marinette knocked on what was left of his old door frame. _Maybe I can stay at Marinette’s for a while. It’d be a little weird, but she’s my friend. Hopefully it will be alright?_

“Hey. How are you doing?” Marinette asked, stepping into his apartment.

            Adrien sighed. “I guess I’m ok, but this did come as a surprise.”

            “It’s a good thing we evacuated the building,” Marinette noted.

            Adrien nodded. “Yeah, I don’t really want to think what could’ve happened if I was still in here…At least I’ve got insurance to cover some of this?” Adrien said with a little lilt to his voice.

            “Yeah.” Marinette was quiet for a few moments before speaking up. “You know…If you need to crash somewhere, my apartment is always open to you if you ever need it,” Marinette offered.

            Adrien beamed at her. “Are you sure? I mean it will only be for a little while, and I can help pay rent during that time and…”

            Marinette cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, what are friends for? Come. Come crash in my apartment and destress a little. It’s not every day your apartment gets smashed into smithereens.”

            Adrien followed her, smiling. “If you’re sure?”

            Marinette looked back at him. “What could go wrong?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! I have plot development! I hope you liked this chapter, it was fun for me to write about this new villain. Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment or a favorite if you wish. Until I write again, TTFN!


	12. Just a Little Awkward

            Turns out, a lot of things could go wrong. It’s not that Adrien was a poor house guest. It was just that things started to get a little awkward where the two were concerned.

            Marinette has known Adrien for a lot of her life; since they were both fifteen. He was just a good a friend as Alya or Nino, except that it wasn’t the same. Through the shower wall, Marinette could easily forget how dreamy Adrien’s eyes were, or how much she used to crush on him. He was just her neighbor that she had known for a while, and someone who she could share her triumphs and failures with. But with him before her, Marinette was so lost.

            “Hey, can I help you with that?” Marinette nervously askes as she rushed over to where Adrien was struggling to get through the doorway with a load of crumpled boxes in his arms.

“Yeah, that would be great!” Adrien called over the stack of boxes that hid his face.

Marinette took the top four boxes out of Adrien’s arms, and led him through to her apartment. “Thanks,” Adrien said in relief. He dropped the remaining boxes in his arms onto the floor next to Marinette’s sofa. “I really appreciate you doing this,” Adrien started. Marinette tried to cut him off, but Adrien just shook his head. “Yeah I know you’re fine with it, but it really is a lot of commitment. I mean, I have no clue how long the reconstruction will take for my apartment, so I really do appreciate all you are doing. It means a lot.” Adrien let his hand fall on Marinette’s shoulder as he smiled down at her. She laughed quietly.

            “Like I said; it’s no problem. It would just be wrong to throw you out into the street, into Nino’s home. I could not bear it,” Marinette joked.

            “You wouldn’t dare throw me out with the trash!” Adrien joked back.

            Marinette’s lips curled. “If you don’t throw out that one Ladybug shirt, I might have to.” Marinette winked. Adrien took up the challenge.

            “What? The one that says ‘We’re up all night to get Buggy?’” Adrien asked instantly.

            A slight pink tinged Marinette’s cheeks. “Yeah, that one,” Marinette retorted in a sassy voice.

            Adrien started pulling out some of the clothes in a box that were once from his closet. He pulled out a very tattered shirt that had words that resembled ‘night’ and ‘buggy’. “Oh! NO!” Adrien whispered.

            Marinette tried hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Oh dear…Well, it was trashy, anyway.” She held out her hand for the shirt, which Adrien reluctantly passed it up. “Thank you!” Marinette said cheerily, depositing the shirt in the trash.

            Adrien got up from his position on the floor, next to the shirt box, and walked to the front door. “Ready for one more haul?” Adrien asked. Marinette nodded in conformation and followed him into his ruined apartment.

            It still baffled Marinette how her magic, as Ladybug, had not cleared away this destruction. She figured it probably had to do with the villain not being Hawkmoth, but she still should have been able to restore it. She had been able to restore the damages done in the other attacks this year with the villain’s minions, so why didn’t it work now? It had been about three hours since the attack but Marinette had not had a chance to have an in depth conversation with Tikki yet because she was helping Adrien. However, on the run home, Tikki had just shaken her head hopelessly as she ate her cookie. Things were not looking good, and neither was Adrien’s apartment.

            It was in shambles. The walls were barely standing up as most of them had been chewed through. All of the furniture in all of the rooms looked like they had been tossed into a tornado and dropped into an ocean. Adrien’s personal items weren’t much better. It was going to take a lot of time to restore everything. For the past hour the two of them had went through each stack of stuff, salvaging as much as they could. “Just one more stack,” Adrien said, walking among the rubbish to a closet. The closet was mostly clear of damage. Inside were Tupperware containers that were melted, but there was also polish pottery and a few odds and ends. Adrien and Marinette packed all of the useable items into a box and carried them to Marinette’s apartment.

            On the top most shelf there was a carefully wrapped box, which was the only thing left in the closet. While Adrien was out of the room, Marinette stood on her tippy toes to grab the box. The tips of her fingers lightly touched the edges of the box, so Marinette hopped to try and move the box towards her. The box moved suddenly and came skidding off of the shelf. Marinette cried out in alarm and quickly grabbed onto the falling box and let it rest on the space between her shoulder and her head. She leaned to her right side to compensate for the added weight.

            Adrien came running into the room and rushed over to Marinette. “Here, let me help you with that. It’s heavier than it looks,” Adrien said, with a concerned look in his eyes. His hands brushed hers as he took half of the box, making Marinette’s heart twirl.

            “I’ve noticed,” Marinette grunted, letting Adrien take half of the box as they lowered the heavy box onto the floor. “My God, what do you have in there? Bricks!?” Marinette exclaimed.

            Adrien flipped the lip of the box open to show Marinette. “It’s just some old, heavy books that I have from home and college. Most of them are not too useful, so I hid them away,” he explained. Adrien gestured to the box. “Do you mind helping me carry this last box to your apartment?” he asked.

            The two of them carefully walked out of the apartment with the box of books between them. Adrien locked the door to his apartment (not that it was any use doing so), and they filed into Marinette’s apartment.

            Marinette sighed at how full and packed her apartment now was, but she put the thought aside. _It’s worth dealing with it for a while for Adrien_.

            Marinette plopped onto her couch and patted the seat beside her, gesturing for Adrien to sit beside her. Adrien complied and sat a little distance from her. They both mildly smelled like sweat and cardboard as they sat there looking out the window. Marinette drummed her fingers against the arm of the chair. “So, umm…Welcome! Welcome to my small apartment, though it’s not that different from yours…Feel free to make yourself at home, unless you don’t want to, which I understand because it isn’t your home and…” Marinette rambled before being cut off by Adrien.

            “Thank you. Don’t worry; I won’t try and invade your space; that would be weird. I’m just your house guest. You can tell me whenever you feel I overstay your welcome. I tend to do that a lot, but I’m trying to get better…” Adrien let his mouth run as he played with the end of his shirt. “You can still push me out at any time. I won’t get offended. I would do the same thing…”

            Marinette interjected. “No; you are perfectly fine Adrien. You are practically my…um” _family_ Marinette thought. “I mean you practically live here anyway because of all the times you have come over for coffee. I really don’t mind.”

            “Thanks,” was Adrien’s reply. They then just sat there, awkwardly, staring out onto Marinette’s balcony. It was several minutes of silence for the two of them until Adrien’s stomach grumbled. Adrien tried to hide it by leaning over to make it stop, but it didn’t work. Marinette giggled.

            “Looks like you’re hungry. Sorry for not offering food yet,” Marinette spluttered.

            Adrien shook his head. “No, you don’t need to say sorry.”

            “No, I do. You’re my house guest; I need to feed you.”

            “But I’m also you’re housemate, so it would be crazy to order you to get me food,” Adrien protested.

            “Well…it’s not ordering. It’s my job,” Marinette replied, getting more flustered and determined by the minute.

            “No. It’s not your job. You’re not my housewife to order around. You are a bright, young woman who can follow her own orders!” Adrien declared.

            Marinette couldn’t help but start to laugh. Adrien was getting so defensive for her behalf, that she couldn’t keep the laughter in. _Domestic fighting. Is this how it’s going to go for the next few weeks…_ Marinette shook her head as she continued to laugh. “We are arguing about who’s going to get food, Adrien!” Marinette laughed.

            Adrien had been looking at her like she had fallen off her rocker, but now he joined in with her laughs. “How married can we get?” Adrien joked.

            This had been a joke between them for a few weeks. Alya and Nino had started to point out how much of a married couple they were (with a few cheeky winks from Alya), and it had soon became a joke between the four of them. Adrien and Marinette were staying friends, _no matter if he and I are now practically living together for the perceivable future. No matter that he kinda believes we are a married couple. He doesn’t actually believe it does he? Does He!?_ Marinette’s mind was whirring ten miles per second, and she had to breathe in very deeply to calm her thoughts down. _Roommates. Not just friends, but also not dating, engaged, or married. Calm down, Mari, just calm down._

“If you like it, you better put a ring on it,” Marinette quoted with a laugh. With cheeks blooming, Adrien laughed along.

            “Har har. You’re hilarious.” Adrien rolled his eyes.

            Out of some kind of habit (Marinette blamed Chat, as always), Marinette bopped Adrien on the nose. “Of course I am.” Adrien’s eyes focused on her finger and his cheeks darkened. Marinette hastily pulled her finger away. “Anyway…serious business now. What do you want to eat? Chinese? Pizza? Burgers? Pastries” Marinette asked, sitting on her hands in an attempt to hide her nervousness.

            Adrien held his fist to his chin. “Hmmm…How about pizza? Are you feeling pizza?”

            Marinette nodded. “I was hoping you would choose that one. I tried using my telekinetic powers to try and influence you.” Marinette held two fingers to each temple and pretended to influence Adrien’s mind. He played along and wobbled his head back and forth, coming to a decision.

            “My favorite kind of pizza is cheese with thick crust and little sausages!” Adrien said in a monotone voice.

            Marinette stopped suddenly. “It worked!” Marinette cried as if she had just created human life like Frankenstein.

            Adrien chuckled. “There were only a few questions you could have asked me. I guess I chose the right one.”

            “Maybe we just have a cool bond though,” Marinette protested. “Also I could have asked you Ninjas or Pirates.”

Adrien smiled.            “What drinks do you want to get,” Adrien asked. “I would like a Fanta please.”

            “I’m going to get a coke. I’ll order. Anything else you want?” Marinette asked, reaching for her phone.

            “Umm, no, but don’t worry about ordering it. I’ll do it.” Adrien reached for the phone, but Marinette held it out of his reach.

            “NO, I can do it,” she declared, dialing the number (It was on speed dial of course). Adrien leaped onto Marinette’s lap and stole the phone away from her just as the pizza place picked up. Marinette growled, but let him order. _I’ll just pay for it then._

000

            “God, I missed this,” Adrien declared, pointing to the screen as he shoved another slice of pizza into his mouth. “The way Nine, Rose, Jack, and Mickey are just eating peacefully like a little family. I loved when things were just simple in Doctor Who. Not the crazy episodes that they have now,” Adrien complained.

            “Yeah like the three part-ers, and how everyone is now pretty much dead,” Marinette added. Adrien and Marinette were slouched in front of the TV watching classic Doctor Who. Their pizza was now but a few crumbs, and their drinks were sucked dry. It was about ten ‘o’ clock at night and Marinette could tell Adrien was fading. Adrien was definitely not a night owl. He may seem like he’s excited, but it was more the show than his own body. His eyes were drooping, and he wasn’t as sharp. Adrien had once told Marinette that he has no filter when he grows tired. It looked like that would be put to the test in the next few weeks together. But tonight was not that day. Marinette thought that she might want to put Adrien to sleep before he started getting crazy.

            As soon as the episode ended, Marinette turned off the TV as Adrien yawned. “You ready to go to bed?” Marinette asked. Adrien nodded sleepily.

            “Mmm..” he hummed. Marinette shook her head and laughed softly.

            “C’mon. Let’s go.” Marinette hauled Adrien off her sofa and led him gently to her bedroom. “You can have my bed for tonight at least…”

            Adrien spun around. “I can’t let you sleep on the sofa!” Adrien cried. He, himself, tried to go to the sofa, but Marinette stopped him.          

            “It’s alright,” Marinette said as if she were talking to a child. “I’ll just take it tonight. I can’t let you sleep on the sofa. You’re my guest. Go.” Marinette shooed Adrien over to the bed, but Adrien continued to shake his head, becoming a little more awake.

            “NO; it’s your house. You should sleep in your bed,” Adrien protested.

Marinette threw up her hands. “Fine. If neither of us will let the other sleep on the sofa, I guess we’ll just have to share my bed. I’ll get dressed first.” Marinette pushed Adrien onto the bed and she marched off to her restroom after grabbing some clothes,

            As soon as Marinette closed the door her heart stopped beating for a second. _What did I just agree to????Looks like I’m not the only one without a filter tonight. It’s not like I’m taking advantage of him. I can get up to sleep on the couch in the middle of the night after patrol with Chat. I will just being doing this for a few hours._ Marinette quickly got dressed into her pjs and unlocked the bathroom door.

            Marinette walked into her bedroom to find Adrien pulling on a sleep shirt. Marinette blushed and turned away with a little cough. Adrien spun around and held the shirt to his chest. She blushed and kept her eyes averted. “Sorry. I can wait in the bathroom little longer,” Marinette squeaked.

            Adrien shook his head. “No, you’re fine. I was about done anyway.” Adrien sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Marinette. “Which side do you usually sleep on?” Adrien asked.

            “The left.”

            Adrien crawled to the right side of the bed. Marinette hovered by the doorway, unsure of what to do. “Come lay down,” Adrien beckoned. “It’s your bed, for Pete’s sake.” Marinette carefully laid down on her side, positioning herself so that she was closest to the edge of the bed as possible. Adrien did the same.

            “Can I turn out the light?” Marinette asked quietly as she pulled the covers over her torso.

            “Yeah,” came Adrien’s raspy breathing. With a click, the lights were off and the two were dunked into the darkness.

            Marinette’s bed was not large, but it was decently sized. It wasn’t Papa Bear’s bed, but it also wasn’t Baby Bear’s. It was a comfy, middle sized bed that was honestly made for only one person. Two people were pushing its limits. Marinette was nearly hanging off the bed, trying to give Adrien some space. It didn’t stop Marinette from noticing how warm he was beside her, and how the faint smell of his cologne enveloped her. _I am not washing these sheets for a while,_ ” Marinette commented to herself. _But I first have to get through this night without cuddling him. This will be an adventure._

“Goodnight Mari,” Adrien whispered.

            “Goodnight Adrien..” Marinette replied.

            With backs facing towards each other, Marinette let herself fall asleep, letting her body relax. Now was not the time to freak out about how, when they woke up, their limbs would be tangled together. Or how Marinette would be woken by Adrien’s soft breathing against her neck. No, now was not the time to think about that.

000

            It was getting close to midnight when Marinette pulled herself out of bed. As she had suspected, she had found herself practically using Adrien as a pillow. Carefully, she extracted herself and pulled herself out of the bed. Adrien whined a little bit as her warmth left him, but other than that, he did not complain.

            From underneath her bed, Marinette pulled out some large pillows and laid it beneath the covers where she had just been laying. She did not want to risk Adrien freaking out in the middle of the night because she had disappeared from the apartment. Not that she would come back to bed. The sofa was to be her bed after patrol.

            Marinette quickly changed into her old day clothes and crawled out onto the balcony and close the door behind her. From her purse, Tikki appeared beside Marinette. “You ready to go?” Marinette whispered.

            Tikki nodded silently, but paused when Marinette didn’t say the magic words. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

            Marinette sighed. “Do you know anything about today? I don’t want to go meet Chat Noir with no information unless there is none…”

            Tikki cupped Marinette’s cheek. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really know why our lucky charm didn’t work, but I have some theories.” Marinette raised her eyebrows, beckoning Tikki to continue. “The Miraculouses centered around the ladybug and black cat, such as the fox, bee, turtle, and butterfly, are not the only types of Miraculouses out there. They are indeed the most powerful, but just like how there is more stars and planets in the universe, there are more groups of Miraculouses,” Tikki explained quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up in the apartment building.

            “I think this Luciole person is the firefly miraculous which is a part of the second strongest group. The center of his system are the swan and the wolf, but those Miraculouses should have been destroyed years ago…or at least that’s what Master Fu believed. I don’t know more than that the firefly miraculous is different from our system of Miraculouses. I’m sorry,” Tikki confessed.

            Marinette nodded in understanding. “I understand. Thank you for telling me as much as you know. Maybe Chat and I can do some research tonight. Alright…Tikki, Spots On!” Marinette transformed into Ladybug in a series of movements and she leapt off into the Parisian, night air.

            Meanwhile Adrien was waking up slowly to the soft alarm on his phone. Through bleary eyesight, Adrien stared at his phone screen and literally dropped his phone as he saw the time. “Shit,” Adrien whispered, falling out of the bed. In the darkness of the bedroom, Adrien saw that Marinette was still sleeping and hadn’t made a peep from all of his noises. As quickly as he could, Adrien ran out of the room calling for Plagg. “Plagg! Plagg! PLAGG!!” Adrien called urgently. Plagg floated out from Marinette’s kitchen.     

            “What’s the big rush,” Plagg wondered, shoving a wheel of cheese into his mouth lazily. Adrien angrily grabbed the cheese away from Plagg.

            “We’re going to be late for patrol! Now get your conniving hands out of Marinette’s food and let’s get going!” Adrien cried irritably. “Claws Out.” Plagg grumbled as he was dragged into Adrien’s ring. _You owe me cheese, kid,_ Plagg said into Adrien’s head. Chat Noir rolled his eyes. _Get over it_ , was Adrien’s reply. He leaped out of the balcony window, not even noticing that the Marinette, which was in the bed, was nothing but a pillow.

            Chat Noir leaped to Ladybug’s side with ease and joined her for a run around Paris as they talked. “Have you learned anything about the weird bug guy from today?” Chat inquired, leaping from roof to roof. “And why we couldn’t repair his damage?”

            Ladybug shook her head. “I don’t really know why I couldn’t repair anything but my kawami and I have our suspicions. My kawami, Tikki, said that the firefly miraculous is a miraculous from a different sort of system, like how there are multiple planets. We believe that since he is not part of ours, he has more control or something,” Ladybug explained. “But I think we’re going to have to do some research to figure out more about him before the next attack. Do you want to make a trip to the library tonight?”

            Chat nodded. “It’s better to be informed than to be uninformed.” The two finished their circuit around the city of Paris, and landed themselves in the library. Thankfully it was still open, so the two took a secluded computer and table. Chat Noir scoured the shelves while Ladybug combed through every browser engine. By the time their Miraculouses started to beep, they had found next to nothing.

            “Again tomorrow night?” Ladybug asked, standing on the rooftop of the library.

            “Sure. Midnight sound good?” was Chat’s reply as he extended his baton, getting ready to go home.

            “Yep, see you soon!” Ladybug called, and they were off. Ladybug flew through the air, hoping to arrive home before Adrien started to notice anything fishy. She did not want him waking up to find her not there. The final beep sounded just as she landed on her balcony. The pink, red dust showered off of her as her uniform disappeared into her civilian clothes. It was finally time to go to bed. Marinette carefully crawled into her apartment and grabbed a blanket from one of her closets. Her sofa was looking very inviting. From the corner of her eye Marinette saw a shadow follow her in, but she dismissed it. She settled down at the foot of her sofa and started to lay down to sleep. Unfortunately, someone had the same idea. Marinette yelped as something squished underneath her as she lay on the couch. “WHAT THE HELL!” She screamed, jumping up and ran to turn on a light and grab a frying pan, thinking it was an intruder of some kind. As soon as the lights illuminated the room, she found Adrien lying on the couch with his hands over his head, to protect himself. “WHAT THE HELL ADRIEN!” She yelled at him, letting her arm with the frying pan fall a little. “I thought you were going to sleep in the bed!”

            Adrien sat up. “Well I didn’t want to make things awkward so I decided to sneak out here and sleep and get up early before you noticed! I didn’t know you would have the same plan!” Adrien explained, throwing his hands up.

            Marinette threw her hands up as well. “That’s not my fault!” She cried.

            Adrien stared at Marinette’s clothes. “Why are you wearing day clothes?” Adrien asked. “Where did you go?”

            Marinette huffed. “I didn’t go anywhere! It wouldn’t be your business anyway.” Marinette screwed up her face with determination.

All of a sudden Adrien started to laugh, just like what they had been doing all night. “We seem to be getting into a lot of these little, domestic fights, don’t we?” Adrien laughed, and Marinette soon joined in.

            “We might need to work on that…Good God, we are so stubborn.” Marinette laughed.

“You could say that again,” Adrien commented.

 “Let’s just go to bed, I’m exhausted.” Marinette sighed. She walked side by side with Adrien into ~~her~~ their bedroom. Even though they both still lay on the very edges of the bed, they seemed to be just a little less awkward in this arrangement. _I may need to invest in a larger bed, though,_ Marinette thought as she drifted off to sleep, curling the tiniest bit closer to Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Here is a new chapter about how living arrangements are going with our favorite characters and how hard it is to keep identities hidden. Turns out both of them are oblivious enough that they don't notice. Lol. I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like to. Until I write again, TTFN!


	13. It Smelled Like Cookies (Weird?)

 

It smelled like cookies. Adrien didn’t know why, but it smelled like cookies. He was enveloped in the smell. It was as if he was holding an enormous, soft, and squishy chocolate chip cookie in his arms. Adrien never wanted to wake up. So therefore he decided to enjoy his dream state and take a nice bite out of the chocolate chip cookie…..to find a lot of hair in his mouth.

Adrien’s eyes shot open. It was dark in the room, which was not his bedroom. The only light that reached into the room was from the blinds on the window. Adrien estimated that it was around seven in the morning, but that was not important information. He was surrounded by soft, pink sheets with a white duvet. Beneath his head was a flannel pillow with a cherry blossom pattern covering it. The cookie that he was holding in his dream was still there, and Adrien pulled it closer to him for just a second before registering that it was not, in fact, a cookie. It was a sleeping woman who had her hair stuck in his mouth. The neighbors would later decide that it was way too early for screaming.

 “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Adrien shrieked, rocketing out of the bed, landing himself on the floor, unfortunately pulling Marinette along with him.

 “BLAH!” Marinette cried, startling awake. Adrien scrambled to catch onto the sides of the mattress to try and stop his downward movement towards the ground, but ultimately failed. Soon enough, Adrien and Marinette lay in a tangle of sheets, pillows, and limbs on the carpeted floor. Adrien lay with his arms around Marinette and his nose stuck in the tangle of her hair.

“Sorry,” Adrien said, his voice muffled by her hair. Marinette blinked blearily around her. All she could see was a bright blue shirt, and she could tell that she was lying on someone’s chest. Marinette’s first reaction was to flail, only getting their limbs even more entangled.  

“BLAH!” Marinette screamed, throwing punches left and right. She even went as far as grabbing her lamp off of her bedstand. She successfully hit Adrien straight on the nose, sending him reeling.

“Wait,..let me! Maybe we could,” Adrien muttered, slowly getting into a sitting position, cradling his nose. “Maybe we could not try and hit the person who’s not an intruder,” Adrien mentioned, dryly.

Marinette finally stopped and registered that it was Adrien who had pulled her out of bed. She huffed loudly. “Why did you wake me up so early?” She complained in a sleepy voice, making Adrien laugh nervously.

“Sorry about that. I just had a crazy dream about a cookie…eating me…so I freaked out and I might have pulled you out of bed by accident….then you thought I was an intruder, and….sorry.” Adrien blushed a deep crimson and started to push himself out of the heap of blankets. He was tilting his head back, trying to stop the rush of blood pouring out of his nose.

Marinette grunted. “’S all right…” Marinette looked closer at Adrien and noticed the blood coming out of his nose “Omg! Did I hurt you!?” Marinette asked. She bounced out of the covers and huddled close to Adrien. She tapped on his hand, requesting for him to remove it, which he complied. He tentatively took his hand away from his nose and let Marinette see the damage, but he kept his head back.

"That’s not too bad…” Marinette mumbled more to herself than to Adrien. Marinette reached out and touched Adrien’s nose softly, making Adrien wince in pain. “I don’t think it’s broken…. Stay there.” Marinette stepped away from Adrien and walked into her bathroom. Adrien returned his hand to his nose to try and relieve some of the pain on the bridge of his nose. Marinette came skittering back into the room with tissues in her hand and a few other first-aid items.

Marinette patiently told Adrien to hold the tissues to his nose and lean forward as she tended to the bridge of his nose. “Sorry about that…” Marinette whispered. Adrien could feel her breath hit his closed eyelids in soft waves. “I didn’t know I had such a strong arm…” Marinette giggled nervously. Adrien smiled.

"You’re fine. I would have reacted the same way to an intruder.” Adrien slowly opened his eyes and stared at Marinette fixing him up until she met his gaze.

“What?” She asked. There were bags around her eyes, but they didn’t seem as harsh as they usually were. It seemed like she had actually had some sleep for once. Adrien’s chest thrummed like a guitar string in response to the thought. Adrien smiled softly.

“Let’s just hope you don’t do this every morning that I wake up in your bed.” Adrien added a little wink to the end of his sentence, making Marinette roll her eyes.

“You’re incorrigible.”Marinette said grudgingly as she removed her hands from his nose. “There. All fixed up. I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back.” Marinette stumbled off to find the bathroom, leaving Adrien alone to fix up the rest of the bed.

Adrien removed the tissues from his nose and made sure the bleeding was done before he threw away the tissues. He then picked up the sheets from the floor and attempted to put them back onto the bed. Adrien smoothly curved the edges of the bedding over the sides of the bed and reached back onto the floor to grab the pillows. He assembled them neatly at the head of the bed. Since Marinette had still not returned, Adrien smoothed some of the bumps in the fabric as he thought to himself. _You big dorkasaurous. You just had to wake up thinking Marinette was a cookie, didn’t you. You couldn’t just have a normal dream while sleeping in someone else’s bed, sleeping with someone else. No… You had to make yourself a great dick head by flinging her out of bed, making her think someone was attacking her. Smooth moves…_ Adrien thought to himself, plumping the pillows slowly and carefully. He glanced at his reflection in a mirror on the wall and surveyed Marinette’s handy-work. It was perfect.

Adrien considered traipsing into the kitchen to find some food and coffee, but decided against it. If it was a normal morning between he would just walk into her apartment and make coffee and breakfast for the two of them before Marinette woke up. It was just something that the two of them did. Some nights Marinette would break into his apartment near dinner time to drop off some fast food or homemade food, only to join him on his couch for a Harry Potter Marathon or just a night filled with random stories. It was just something normal for them to do. However, in this setting, it seemed like everything had changed.

Adrien played with the drawstrings of his pajama pants as he looked around the room. He had already had a chance to look around the room last night as he couldn’t really get to sleep. It was just like everywhere else in her apartment. There were cherry blossoms scattered across the room, making Adrien feel like he was in some anime, or something. The room portrayed her interests in fashion, but also in her obsession of everything pink, and cute.  The room had a bed, two nightstands, a chair, and a few lamps. On the chair lay a cute little plushie surrounded by little Hello Kitty stuffed animals. Adrien walked closer to the chair and looked closer at the plushie. It had the look of a ladybug. There were two little antennas sticking cock-eyed out of the top of her head. The plushie’s eyes were cross-eyed, making her look a tad bit scary. Her arms were little stumps positioned in a normal, teddy bear fashion. _Come to think of it, it looks a lot like a kawami…_. Adrien thought to himself. “Oh shoot! Plagg!” Adrien exclaimed, running over to his bag. He pulled out a grumbling kawami, who refused to look at him. “Oh come on Plagg! I didn’t mean to forget about you. You know I care about you, it was just…”

Plagg gave Adrien a look. “Yeah you got caught by ‘Your Princess!” Plagg said in a high-pitched voice, and then giggled. “You are so hooked. But yes, you forgot to feed me. Good job. Errand boy, get me cheese.” Plagg commanded.

Adrien completely changed his demeanor in a matter of moments, opting to become an annoyed parent. “Don’t use that tone of voice with me, Plagg. You know darn well I don’t have food because the stupid fireflies. You also know I can’t just wander into Marinette’s kitchen to steal some cheese for you! I’ll get some for you right before I go into work, I promise,” Adrien pleaded.

“What work?” Plagg questioned. “You don’t have work today, which means shopping for more cheese, which means more Marinette, which means you should love me, which also means I need more _me_ time, which also means you need to be respectful of this littl……” Plagg explained at length, then stopped midsentence.

“Who you talkin’ to?” Marinette asked, padding into the bedroom with the sound of a washing toilet in the background. She stared, clear eyed, at the back of Adrien with her head cocked to one side. The door behind her clicked closed, leaving the two in semi darkness. This gave Plagg a chance to fly back into Adrien’s bag without being caught.

Adrien spun around from his stance by the bed and hiding his bag behind his back. “Just talking to myself. A really bad habit of mine…”

Marinette quirked her eyebrow, but allowed the lie to pass. “Ok….I guess it happens to everyone.” Marinette walked closer to Adrien, walking to the other side of the bed, and Adrien started to sweat.

“Uhh, how about you get back to bed!.....missy? You look like you need some sleep!” Adrien blurted out, heat rising in his cheeks.

Marinette shook her head. “I wasn’t going to bed… I was just going over to this side for my phone…..” Marinette said in a voice that said ‘you’re doing something weird. Stop it.’ Marinette brushed past Adrien, straining her eyes to try and see behind him, but Adrien moved the position of his bag and let a fake smile cover his face.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, yeah, of course. It’s your house. Do whatever you want. I’m going to get started on breakfast. Feel free to come out whenever you like.” Adrien’s voice seemed to escalate in pitch as he continued, and his neck rubbing became more vigorous.

Marinette kept looking at Adrien with those big eyes that made Adrien instantly feel guilty for things he would never commit. As soon as she turned her back to get her phone, Adrien raced out of the room.

With bag in hand, Adrien carefully slipped out of the bedroom. As soon as he hit the kitchen, he opened the bag to let Plagg out to get some cheese. Adrien leaned against the wall and let out a large breath of air. _God, why am I so awkward? Seriously, why?_

It was a small kitchen. Not too shabby, but not the most pristine thing Adrien had ever seen. He found he did not care too much for the fashionable life. He would much rather live in an apartment like this one. Adrien flicked on the main light of the kitchen and stared into the cozy room. He could not describe why this morning felt different (except for the fact that he and Marinette were now sharing an apartment and she hit him with a lamp), but he decided to try and ignore it. Food came before emotions every time.

Adrien cracked an egg against a mixing bowl. _You are not going to fall for her. She is just a friend. She may be like Ladybug, but Marinette is not her. They are both unique people in my life, but for different reasons. No matter what Nino says._ Adrien huffed as he cracked one more egg into the mixing bowl and lay the egg shells aside as he picked up a whisk and started to beat the eggs together.      

Next Adrien poured some dry pancake mix into the egg mixture and added baking soda and buttermilk. Adding a few more secret ingredients, Adrien mixed it all together. From the pan display on the wall, Adrien chose one small pan and placed it on the gas stove. With a click, the flame beneath the wrought iron came to life and he set it to a medium setting. Placing the pan on top, Adrien readied his pancake mixture, which he poured into the pan when it was ready. Within minutes, Adrien had a nice stack of pancakes on a plate to the side.

At that moment, Marinette sidled into the room with her phone in her hand. She lay a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “What do you want me to help with?” She asked. Adrien pointed to the fridge.

“Could you get the ham and bacon and start them up on a different pan. Thanks.” Adrien dictated as he continued to make the pancakes. Marinette nodded at the information that Adrien gave her, and she set to work.

Inside the fridge Marinette grabbed a small packet of bacon and ham and carved them out of their package onto another frying pan. She added to a new pan onions and butter, filling the air with the tangy and mouth-watering scent of it. As the meat continued to sizzle in the pan, Adrien, beside her, completed the last step to a perfect breakfast. Coffee.  After the many weeks of having breakfast with Marinette, Adrien had learned the perfect way to awaken a dragon.

Out of the cupboard to his top right, Adrien pulled down two mugs for he and Marinette. One was a mug with Benedict Cumberbatch’s face all over it, while the other was covered with cat whiskers. Marinette was just finishing up with flipping the last pieces of bacon and ham as Adrien finished pouring the coffee and adding the condiments. Like synchronized swimmers the two assembled each other’s plates.

Adrien and Marinette carefully sat down into the chairs in her dining room. Marinette sat with the whiskers mug and a blue plate filled with pancakes and meat, while Adrien used the Benedict Cumberbatch mug with a plate filled with pancakes and meat as well.  Marinette hummed with happiness as she dived into the delicious breakfast. Adrien sat opposite her and ate his own breakfast. He switched his attentions from his food, to Marinette, to the room around him, and then back to his own breakfast.

“You ok?” Marinette asked with a smile in her voice.

Adrien turned the slightest bit red. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking how this is just like every other morning. It’s weird, but it’s not. We’re doing our normal, morning routine, but we still woke up beside each other… You know? It’s just so weird but ok at the same time.”

Marinette nodded. “I get that. And we didn’t just wake up beside each other. I woke up on top of you, ready to murder you.” Marinette let out a laugh, and she glanced up at Adrien quick enough to give him a wink. If Adrien had blinked, he would have missed it. “But it is weird that we just jump into the rhythm again. It does work for us, though. Plus its good food. I wouldn’t give that up for any weird thing that happens to us.”

Adrien smiled secretly at his plate. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to give this up.” Adrien added the last bit of food into his mouth and downed the rest of his coffee. Adrien got up and gathered up his plate, and he nodded to Marinette’s clean one. “You want me to take that back for you and get some more coffee?” Adrien offered.

Marinette nodded and lifted her plate and cup up to Adrien for him to take. She murmured her thanks as Adrien collected it. In a matter of moments Adrien was back with both of their coffee cups filled again. Adrien leaned against the wall and drank his coffee slowly while watching Marinette finish hers. Adrien glanced at his watch and checked the time. He was supposed to meet the contractors for his apartment at 9:30. It was about nine now.  Adrien set his coffee cup down in the sink and filled it with water. “Hey, is it alright if I take a shower in your bathroom? I have to meet some people working on my apartment around 9:30 and I can’t really smell like a…”

“A walrus?” Marinette inquired with a little smirk. Adrien scowled. “No, go ahead and take a shower. You can find some fresh towels in the cabinet to the left of the shower.” Marinette took another sip of her coffee. “Oh and feel free to play some music. My I-pod is already in the bathroom….Unless you would like to not listen to my music, or music at all…”

Adrien smiled endearingly at Marinette. “Thanks. I’ll try not to play it too loud.” Adrien shuffled to the bedroom to rummage around the boxes to find some clothes. He closed the bathroom door behind him and set his clothes on the closed toilet seat. He found Marinette’s I-Pod in her stereo and he flicked through her songs and playlists. He decided on a familiar playlist of French songs. As the musical part of Elle Me Dit by MIKA played in the background, Adrien turned his attentions to the shower.

The shower was much like his own, but it didn’t seem to work the same. It looked like everything was flipped, leading Adrien to get freezing cold water pouring down his back. Letting out a stream of curse words, Adrien switched the temperature of the water.

“Elle me dit, écris une chanson contente, Pas une chanson déprimante; une chanson que tout le monde aime… (She told me, write a happy song, not a depressing song, a song that everyone loves) Elle me dit… tu deviendras milliardaire, t’auras de quoi être fier. Ne finis pas comme ton père. (She told me, you will become a millionare, you will be proud. Do not end up like your father). Ne t’enfermes pas dans ta chamber. Vas-y secoue-toi et danse.

Dis moi c’est quoi ton problème. Elle me dit. Qu’est-ce que t’as pas l’air coiffé. T’es défoncé ou t’es gai, tu finiras comme ton frère. Elle me dit! (She told me, Don’t shut yourself in your bedroom Go ahead shake yourself and dance. Tell me what your problem is. She told me. Why aren’t you more suave. You’re broken or you win. You’ll end up like your brother. She told me).” Adrien looked around for some soap that he could possibly use to wash himself, and he found a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and a bar of soap. He experimentally squirted a little dollop of shampoo on his hand and sniffed it. It smelled like cookies. “Good God,” Adrien murmured. “I didn’t know you could bottle this stuff!” Adrien took a big whiff of it and nearly took a bite. Instead he applied it to his hair.

Distantly, Adrien heard Marinette enter the bedroom which was connected to the bathroom. He called out to her. “You’re shampoo is amazing! Where did you buy it?” Adrien exclaimed.

“You’re using my shampoo?” Marinette inquired humorously.

Adrien coughed, realizing that he should have probably asked first. “I, uh….Sorry?”

Marinette laughed. “It’s fine. I bought it at the normal grocery store.” Adrien heard her arranging her sheets and opening up her wardrobe. “Now don’t take too long in there. I can’t let you have too long of a moment with your cookie shampoo,” She joked.

Adrien rubbed the shampoo into his scalp and brushed it through his hair. Skillfully, Adrien shaped his hair into a Mohawk. “I am a beauty queen. There is no such thing as too long,” he joked, earning a laugh from Marinette. Adrien leaned into the water stream and continued singing the song.

“Elle me dit, C’est ta vie. Fais c’que tu veux, tant pis. Un jour tu comprendras. Un jour tu t’en voudras. Elle me dit, t’es trop nul. Sors un peu de ta bulle. Tu fais n’importe quoi. On dirait que t’aimes ça (She told me, it’s your life. Do what you want, oh well. One day you’ll understand. One day you’ll want it. She told me, you’re a zero. Get out of your bubble a little. You don’t do anything important. Looks like you like that).” From the other side of the bathroom walls, Adrien heard Marinette join him.

Everything felt completely different. It was just like earlier this morning; everything was different.  Yes they were both singing and enjoying the music while the other showered, but this was so different. Adrien couldn’t help but love it. It was a weirdly nice feeling knowing that Marinette was just in the other room, a room that could be reached through one door instead of five. It was oddly comforting in a not weird way. Adrien could get used to it.

“Pourquoi, tu gâches ta vie? Danse, danse, danse…Elle me dit!” (Why are you wasting your life? Dance, dance, dance…She told me!) Marinette and Adrien sang. Adrien danced from side to side in the bathtub rocking his head back and forth like he was a bobble head. He stretched his hands above his head as he tapped dance in the shower.

“Elle me dit, t’as pas encore des ch’veux blancs. Mais t’auras bientôt 30 ans. Vaudrait mieux que tu te reveilles. Elle me dit. Tu es toujours un enfant. Tu ne seras jamais grand. et moi je suis déjà vieille.(She told me, you don’t have white hair. But soon you’ll be 30 years old. It would be better if you woke up. She told me.  You’re still a child. You will never be great, and I am already old). Elle me dit, regardes un peu tes amis. Qu’est-ce qu’ils vont faire de leur vie. Il y a de quoi se foutre en l’air. Elle me dit. Oui un jour tu me tueras, mais c’est quand elle me dit ça, qu’elle me dit un truc que j’aime. (She told me. Look at your friends. What will they do with their lives. There is something to mess up. She told me. Yes one day you will kill me, but when she said that, she told something that I love). Adrien was only 23, but he was often plagued about what to do with his life. He did modeling as a side job to get money still, but he also wanted to be a teacher, and even then, sometimes he wondered if he could do more with his time. Listening to this song reminded him of these troubles, but with the upbeat feeling to it, he couldn’t help but feel like it was going to work itself out.

Adrien stepped out of the shower and carefully turned off the stream of water. Out of his bag of toiletries he pulled out his shaving cream and razor. Whipping off the mirror’s sweat, Adrien pumped out a little bit of shaving cream onto his hand and applied it to his face. With the ending choruses Adrien carefully sang along, when he could, as he scraped his razor across his cheeks and chin. Adrien was not a very hairy man, and he didn’t grow a very good mustache or beard (sadly), so he had to shave every time he noticed his five ‘o’ clock shadow. It was very tedious.

“Elle me dit danse! Elle me dit danse, danse, danse! Elle me dit danse!” (She told me dance. She told me dance, dance, dance. She told me dance). The two of them heartily sang the ending verse as Adrien finished up.  Adrien only nicked himself a few times, but he cleaned himself up quite nicely. With a stream of mist, Adrien popped out of the bathroom into the bedroom adequately clean and dressed to meet contractors. Marinette coughed with all of the mist flooding into her room. The fan from the bathroom could be heard in their silent apartment as Adrien came out with all of his stuff in his arms.

“Good God, did you have enough hot water?” Marinette asked, exasperated. She smiled at Adrien with a soft smile. Her clothes for the day were bundled in her arms as she sidled up to Adrien.

“Of course! The real question is whether or not you have hot water,” Adrien joked. He laughed at Marinette’s pouty face. Adrien had a thought of kissing those pouty lips, which he had to forcefully push away. _I should not be thinking like that. NOPE. Not happening. Ladybug, Ladybug, Ladybug._ Marinette’s lips reverted back to normal, then lifted up in her own smile. Marinette surprised Adrien as she suddenly reached out to touch his wet hair. His hair, when wet, looks very close to Chat Noir’s hair. It was flattened down and was split into four or five parts on his forehead. These little parcels of hair would then come to a point. When Adrien was a teenager, he used to love thinking that his fringe looked exactly like the hair of an anime star.

Marinette softly played with one of the parcels of hair. She twisted it between her fingers before letting it drop back onto his forehead. She looked entranced with his hair as she continued to play with it. She rubbed her fingers through his mop of hair, slightly massaging his scalp. Adrien let out a purr as Marinette combed over the right spot. Marinette froze and they both felt heat rise to their cheeks.

“Sorry!” Marinette blurted out. “It’s just your hair looked incredibly soft and I couldn’t resist, and, and …” Marinette fiddled with the clothes in her arms. “I should probably start showering…Uh, call if you need anything…..I think it’s almost 9:30….I uhh…is that when the contractors are coming????” Marinette had to resist from letting her arms flail about, making her look exactly like a dorkasorous. _Oh look, there’s a dorkasorous in her natural habitat!_ Marinette thought frantically to herself.

Adrien started to stumble around his words as well, and he started his nervous tick of rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t know…..but I mean it’s fine….of course you need to shower, why wouldn’t you…I gotta go….contractors…yeah….I need to go….yeah, you shower…k..” Adrien once again ran out of the room and into the kitchen, and then right out of the apartment. _How do I get myself into these things?_ Adrien wondered to himself as he met the contractors outside of his demolished apartment. _Seriously? How!_

000

            Adrien breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Thank god that’s done,” Adrien murmured as he slipped some cheese to Plagg. It was going to take a few weeks to get his apartment back to what it was and he was going to have to pay the big bucks. “I think this is one of the few times I thank my connections with my dad,” Adrien mentioned to Plagg.

            “Yeah, being connected to money is a big plus,” Plagg added, wolfing down his wheels of cheese. “You also have a good insurance company that will cover your crazy catastrophes from being a super hero cat.”

            Adrien nodded in agreement. He stood in the middle of his demolished apartment looking around at the remains of it. He walked around a little bit, and he found his way to his bathroom. He had hardly touched this room since the attack yesterday; there wasn’t much he could salvage from it. His I-Pod was destroyed which nearly killed him. _All that effort! All that time getting that music_ , Adrien pondered. _I guess it will be sort of easy to put everything onto a new one, but still…_ Adrien smiled at the memories this room held. Who knew that out of everywhere in this apartment, the bathroom would hold the most memories?

            Adrien was somewhat amazed that he could hear Marinette on the other side of the walls of his apartment right then. The only things that had changed was the fact that his apartment was destroyed, and they were living together for a while. Everything else was the same. A conversation he once had with Marinette floated into his minds’ eye. It was one of their first showers together. Marinette had said that they were neighbors and they were there for each other; they only had to knock or scream. Adrien decided to shriek.

            Within moments Marinette came rushing into Adrien’s apartment with a dangerous looking golf umbrella in her hands. “WHAT’S WRONG! WHO’S GETTING MURDERED!” Marinette screamed as if she was making a battle cry. She waved around the enormous golf umbrella, nearly hitting Adrien in the head multiple times. Adrien was grinning from ear to ear, just beaming at Marinette.

            Once Marinette had assessed the area with her eagle-like eyes, Marinette glared at Adrien. “What the hell Adrien.”

            Adrien continued to beam. “I just thought I’d call, see if you’d still answer.”

            Marinette rolled her eyes, and let the golf umbrella sag in her arms. “Oh,…great. I thought since there was a scream, so I thought someone was getting murdered, so I thought protect…….and I hate you,” she growled.

            Adrien giggled. “Well, one of the first times we met in the shower you said all I had to do to call for you was knock or scream, so I screamed.” Adrien continued to smile as Marinette scowled at him.

            “You will pay, Trouble…you will pay…” Marinette wagged her finger at him and walked backwards out of the apartment, dragging the umbrella with her like it was a dead body. “You will pay…” Marinette was halfway out the door when she called back to Adrien. “Come on! I can’t have just tons of boxes lying around my apartment all day. We got to get everything unpacked before they start multiplying.” Marinette threatened. Adrien just kept grinning as he followed Marinette out of his apartment into hers, ready to unpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Here is another chapter with a little more awkwardness in it. I hope you liked it. Also, I fixed the indents that I have when I type in a word document. Is this format better? Please let me know. I also decided to add in a small little french song that I was exposed to a while ago in French class. Did you guys like the french song? I thought to add it in since they are theoretically living in France. Anyway, thank you for reading! Until I write again, TTFN!


	14. Helpless

 

Marinette stared hopelessly at the recipe. “Now I’m supposed to mix what with what??” She furrowed her brow. “Ok…so butter with onions…..then add steak….then the greens…..wait. Where do the eggs come in!” Marinette huffed. “Easy stir-fry, Adrien said. Ha! I’d like to see him try this.” Marinette placed a pan onto a burner and started to fry up the onions and butter.

It had been about a week since Adrien had started sharing an apartment with Marinette, and it already felt like years had passed. Adrien and Marinette worked seamlessly together in the one apartment. The months of friendship had definitely payed off, although there were a few problems. One bed. One bathroom. And a crush. Everything else, Marinette felt like she could deal with. Breakfast? Easy; it was Adrien’s job. Work? They walked together then went their separate ways. Coming home? They carpooled. Dinner? Done by yours truly. Daily life at home? They acted like an old married couple. Marinette wouldn’t give up this arrangement for anything. It was her fifteen year old self’s dream. They still had many weeks of living together left because of Adrien’s flat slowly being repaired, and Marinette didn’t mind it at all. It was nice having someone around to talk to that was above 12 inches high. She definitely wasn’t complaining. The only problem came in the rare moments.

After only a week of living together, Marinette had yet to buy another bed, or a larger one. Adrien appeared not to be bothered with sharing a bed with her, but Marinette knew better. She had seen how he had pulled away from her each morning. She didn’t blame him, but she couldn’t say it didn’t hurt. With the bathroom situation it was normally ok; they had a schedule figured out. Adrien would shower first and play music, which would act as an alarm for Mari. She would then take a shower after him while he fixed breakfast. Nothing to complain about there…unless you factor in the number of times where Adrien didn’t come out of the bathroom fully clothed…It wasn’t too bad of a view, but with Marinette’s sleep addled brain, Adrien’s near nakedness did not mix well with a sleepy Mari. It just didn’t. Marinette blushed and quickly tried to find something to focus on something that was not Adrien’s chest. She decided to focus on her stir-fry.

She added the steak carefully to the pan and watched it sizzle in the butter. Marinette hummed along to ‘My Shot’ from Hamilton as she continued to cook. “Rise up! When your livin on your knees, you rise up! Tell your brother that he’s gotta rise up! Tell your sister that she’s gotta rise up! When are these colonies gonna RISE UP!” She and Alya had gotten involved in the Hamilton musical when it first came out, and within the first week they had memorized every line. Marinette smile at the memory. They were such musical nerds when they were younger. Now they were at the top of their career. How times have changed.

When the steak was adequately cooked, Marinette turned off the burner, and set the pan aside. She pulled out some ready-made biscuits and popped them onto a tray, setting the oven to the correct temperature.

Marinette slipped the biscuits into the oven and relaxed against one of the kitchen counters. She checked her watch and guessed that Adrien should be home soon. He got off of work about an hour ago and said that he would make a stop at the market. The market was luckily not too far away from their apartment. Marinette closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against a cabinet. It made a soft thud that reverberated in her skull. From her I-Pod, in its little niche of the kitchen, Hamilton songs continued to play. The next one was “Helpless”. Marinette tapped her foot to the beat and let her head roll from side to side in a trance.

“I do! I do, I do, I do!” Marinette sang. She rolled her fingers against the kitchen counter like she was playing the piano. Her fingers reached out for a spoon that was lying next to the stove. She held it up to her mouth and sang into it like it was a microphone.

“I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight. We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night. Laughing at my sister as she’s dazzling the room. You walked in and my heart went BOOM!” Marinette hit her chest with a flat hand and faked a love-struck look as she mimicked the beat of a heart with her fingers. “Tryin to catch your eye from the side of the ballroom. Everybody’s dancing and the band’s top volume!”

“RIDE! To the rhythm as we wine and dine! Grab my sister, and whisper: ‘Yo this one’s mine.’” Marinette waltzed around her small kitchen, tossing the spoon aside in favor of dancing. “My sister made her way across the room to you!” Marinette halted her dancing to pretend to watch Angelica maker her way to Alexander. “And I got nervous thinking ‘What’s she gonna do?’ She grabs you by the arm; I’m thinkin ‘I’m through!’ But then you look back at me and suddenly I’m…HELPLESS!” She ducks her head and smiles. In her mind’s eye she sees a scene similar to the one from the Broadway show. She sees Adrien staring at her from under an umbrella. He smiles at her and holds the umbrella out to her. The only light in the memory is his eyes and smile. _God that sounds so cliché_ , Marinette thought. _But I can’t stop thinking about his eyes, his smile, personality…_ Marinette hit her head with a light whack. “God you have got problems,” she mumbled to herself.

Tikki appeared, flying through the metal of the fridge door, loaded down with cookies. “Yep, you’ve got some problems,” Tikki admitted.

Marinette put her hands on her hips. “Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!” She grabbed a few cookies out of Tikki’s arms. “And these are not meant for you.” Marinette shoved the cookies into her mouth. “So get your paws off them.”

Tikki giggled and floated up to Marinette and patted her cheek. “Whatever you say.” Marinette pouted as Tikki flitted out of the room.

“I bet Chat Noir’s kawami isn’t nearly as greedy!” Marinette called after Tikki. Marinette could hear Tikki laughing as she traveled through the house. A few more cookies were shoved into Marinette’s mouth.

“ONE WEEK LATER! I’m writing a letter nightly. Now my life gets better every letter that you write me. Laughing at my sister cause she wants to form a harem. ‘I’m just saying if you really loved me, you would share him’….HA!” Marinette sang as she tended to the stir-fry. She turned the burner on again to keep it hot. It would probably be done in a minute or so.

Marinette turned the volume of the song up a little for enjoyment. She was soon so lost in her world that she missed the click of the door and the sound of footsteps stumbling towards the kitchen. If she were paying attention, she would have noticed her name being called, or the familiar smell of male deodorant. She only noticed the smell of stir-fry and the sound of her voice joining with those in the track.

“TWO WEEKS LATER! In the living room STRESSING! My father’s stone faced while you’re asking for his BLESSING! I’m dying inside, as you wine and dine! And I’m trying not to cry cause there’s nothing that your mind can’t do!” Marinette had her eyes shut as she whirled around the room. Adrien stood in the shadows of the doorway watching in wonder at his new flat mate. Groceries were weighing down his arms, but he didn’t seem to care.

“My father makes his way across the room to you!... I panic for a second, thinking we’re through! But then he shakes your hand and says: ‘Be true…’ And you turn back to me smiling and I’m HELP…” Marinette froze when her eyes fell upon Adrien smiling in the doorway.

“Looks like someone’s having fun,” he murmured.

Marinette could not move as she watched Adrien carefully set down his packages and walked slowly towards her. His eyes were all that she could see. She was slowly drowning in them, but simultaneously felling like she could fly. _They look so familiar and caring…I could stare into them all day…_ Marinette paused her thinking as something dawned on her as a certain look came over Adrien’s features. _I have seen those eyes before…I think…Just not on Adrien…no…_ Uncertainty wracked Marinette’s brain, rendering her motionless. With a voice that Marinette knew by heart, Adrien sang Hamilton’s part of the song.

“Eliza…I don’t have a dollar to my name, and acre of land, a troop to command, a dollop of fame! All I have’s my honor, a tolerance for pain, a couple of college credits, and my top-notch brain. INSANE!” Adrien smiled goofily at Marinette as he continued to sing. He started to get invested in the words of the song, and he stepped closer to Marinette. He was looking into her eyes like he loved her, but Marinette knew better, _Hopefully_. “Your family brings out a different side of me. Peggy confides in me, Angelica tried to take a bite of me; No stress…” Adrien tentatively reached out a hand to Marinette. His smile grew the longer he sang, and Marinette couldn’t help but return it. She let her hands slide into his. “My love for you is never in doubt. We’ll get a little place in _Paris_ and we’ll figure it out.” Marinette giggled at the change in words, but appreciated it. As their hands joined, Marinette noticed how Adrien’s thumb ghosted over her knuckles. It was gone the second she noticed it.

“I’ve been living without a family since I was a child. My father left; my mother died. I grew up buck wild, but I’ll never forget my mother’s face; that was real. And as long as I’m alive Eliza, I swear to God you’ll never feel so…”

“Helpless,” Marinette whispered. She looked away from his eyes and concentrated on their hands. She gently swung them back and forth, her smile growing. Within a few seconds Marinette had Adrien dancing around the room with her. He twirled her around and around the room, smiling the whole time. They broke apart a few times to do a few weird moves, but they quickly rejoined hands as if there were magnets pulling them together. Marinette couldn’t help but feel like they had danced before, but she couldn’t be sure. Bags were moved across the kitchen as they put the groceries away while continuing to dance. The two met at the sink and they joined hands once more. Adrien smiled, and Marinette slipped a little closer to him than was normal.

“My life’s gonna be fine cause Marinette’s in it…”

“I look into your eyes and the SKY’S THE LIMIT! IIII-IIIII! I’M down for the count and I’m drowning in em!”

Adrien spun Marinette around his finger and she let out a laugh. At the end of the spin Marinette’s foot got caught on his and she fell forward. “Helpless…” the song finished for them. Their faces were a hand’s breadth away. Adrien let out a breathless laugh. “You always seem to trip over thin air, don’t’ you.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but the movement was ruined by the deep blush on her cheeks. “It was your foot I tripped over, you ridiculously tall person.” Her eyes met his and her eyes crinkled. Marinette was about to make another snarky remark when she was halted by Adrien’s small movement. He had moved his head closer. Marinette couldn’t think. All she could hear was his heart beat become louder and louder. _This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening!_

“I do happen to be tall…” Adrien whispered. He loomed over her, but he was bending his head so that they were at the same level. One of his hands dislodged itself from hers and crept behind her ear. His eyes traced hers asking silent permission. His warm palm rested against her cheek and she reflexively leaned into the shape of it. Marinette closed her eyes at the blissful sensation of his calloused hands rubbing against the soft material of her cheek. Their noses bumped lightly, and the two instinctively tilted their heads so that it no longer was a problem. Marinette’s nose rubbed against Adrien’s cheek as they crept ever closer.

A sizzling sound and burning stench startled the both of them and they bounced away from each other. Marinette ran to the pan of burnt stir-fry and waved away the smoke, coughing. She grabbed an oven mitt and quickly took off the pan while Adrien turned off the stove for her.

“Sorry,” Adrien muttered as he watched Marinette put the pan in the sink and turned on the fan. Marinette turned to Adrien with a bewildered look on her face.

“What are you sorry for? I’m the one who forgot the food was cooking,” she explained. Marinette’s face was deep red as the reality of what she had just almost done hit her.

Adrien threw his hands in the air. “Well I was distracting you with k…singing and stuff!” Adrien stuttered. He refused to look into Marinette’s eyes and Marinette could see how bright his cheeks were becoming. Marinette decided to distract herself by pulling out the biscuits. She wasn’t sure she would be able to meet his eyes either. _He wanted to kiss me. OMG HE WANTED TO KISS ME! What would have happened if the food hadn’t burned? Would he have…_ Marinette had to pull herself away from her thoughts as she tried to find something to change the subject.

Diner was ruined, but Marinette realized that she had one thing left for dinner. She pulled out the biscuits and quickly presented them to Adrien, almost bumping the tray into his chest..

“Biscuits?” Marinette asked in a high-pitched voice.

000

Marinette lay her head against the crook of her arm as she watched Adrien. He was chewing a bite of biscuit as he considered his next move in their game of crazy eights. Marinette’s eyes smiled as he confidently placed down a card. He grinned slyly as he sat back in his chair, but he pouted at her laugh. “What?” he asked, folding his arms and glaring at her.

Marinette beamed as she placed her last card on the stack. Adrien almost flipped the table. “HOW! That’s the TENTH GAME you have won in a row! HOW!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS A GAME OF CHANCE!!!!!!!! CHANCE YOU HEAR!!!!!!!!!” Adrien hollered. Marinette just continued to smile smugly.

“It is a game of chance, but I just have uncommonly good luck, I guess.” Marinette had to hold in a laugh as Adrien collapsed in his chair like a toddler. A cute, little pout was the center of his face. His lips puckered, showing the inside of his lips. As time went on, his pout got bigger. Soon Marinette couldn’t hold it in any longer. Tears streaming down her face, Marinette held her belly and laughed as she rocked back and forth. Adrien kicked her foot.

“It’s not that funny,” he muttered.

Marinette sobered. “I guess you’re right.” She patted his knee, still laughing a little. “You want to take a break?”

Adrien stuck out his bottom lip and nodded. Marinette sat on the arm of his chair. “Alright, what do you want to watch?”

“Yuri On Ice???” Adrien asked, raising his eyebrows. Marinette rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"The things I do for you.” Marinette flopped onto the couch, and Adrien joined her. She flicked through the titles on her Netflix account and pulled up a random episode of Yuri On Ice. Marinette pulled out a blanket and draped it across the two of them. They snuggled a little closer under the blanket as they settled into the episode. However, they got only about ten minutes into the episode when Adrien’s cell phone rang. Marinette grumbled, but paused the episode. Adrien was going to dismiss the call when he saw the caller ID. He quickly picked up, and Marinette watched as Adrien’s face turned ashy gray as he listened to the caller. Marinette could faintly hear someone yelling from the other side of the line. Adrien clicked end call and he looked up at Marinette.

“There’s been an attack. Nino just called me. The firefly guy is right by his apartment. I’ve got to go help him.”

Marinette nodded. “Ok. I’ll go with you.”

“No. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you near an attack like the one we had here.” Adrien ran a finger through his hair as he mentally tallied what he had to do.

“Well I don’t’ want you going near the fight either! It was your apartment that was destroyed last time. You’re the one who we should be worrying about.” Marinette huffed. “I wasn’t the one to get hurt.” Marinette glanced at the band-aids on Adrien’s arm. Adrien stopped his pondering and fully turned towards Marinette.

Adrien growled and covered his arm. “Fine. WE  can BOTH stay here and pretend that we don’t’ care about the battle.” Adrien flopped back onto the couch and pressed play. “Just sitting here, waiting for things to happen…” Marinette glared at Adrien.

“You’re a brat, you know that right?” Marinette huffed. “How about we both go. We’ll both be safe, we can pinkie swear if you’d like. But all I know is I can’t just sit here.” Adrien pumped his arm up and down, but he wrapped his pinkie around hers, giving her a sullen look. “We’re insane,” Marinette chuckled.

“Certifiable-ly,” Adrien cried cheerily as he ran out of the apartment. Marinette just shook her head as she locked the door behind her.

“Just get in the car.”

000

Adrien and Marinette were quiet as they drove through traffic as quick as they could. Adrenalin was pumping through their veins. Adrien was on the driver’s side, and Marinette on the passenger’s side. Adrien’s company car eased them through traffic, getting them through down town and towards Nino’s apartment. They could hear the sound of carnage growing louder.

Marinette had no clue how she could get out of Adrien’s sights to turn into Ladybug. _I should have stopped myself before saying ‘Oh we should go together!’ You are an idiot_. Marinette glanced at the inside of her purse, where Tikki lay hidden. Tikki mimed taking a deep breath, telling Marinette to take control; everything would be fine.

At the next exit, Adrien quickly zipped out of traffic and into a parking garage. They both tried to ignore the sounds of screams and the bright lights bursting into the twilight sky as they got out of the car. Adrien locked the company car with a beep and joined Marinette as they raced down the stairs to get to the streets of Paris. What awaited them was déja-vu. It was just like the battle they had a week ago in their apartment building.

Marinette and Adrien ran at top speeds to the building, only to be stopped by a line of police. “We have got it under control,” the police claimed, but Marinette knew that look in their eyes. They were waiting for some Deus ex Machina to come help them. They needed Ladybug and Chat Noir. However, Marinette knew that two civilians would have to do it for now. She felt Adrien’s hand grasp her upper arm, restraining her from moving forward. A scream from the apartment building in front of them caught the audience’s attention, and all of their heads snapped up to notice a woman leaning her body out of a window as a herd of fireflies dive-bombed into the apartment building. The whole ground shook with its impact. The woman screamed as she fell a few feet. She luckily was able to grab onto a window ledge to keep from falling further.

“HELP!” she cried. She had probably already started to struggle, but Marinette turned away.

“We have to help her,” Marinette demanded. Her steely eyes locked on Adrien’s. When Marinette saw Adrien she did not see ‘neighbor’, ‘crush’, or ‘Trouble’. Marinette saw a partner in crime.

Marinette pointed to a fallen lamp post, a wrecked car, and a commercial billboard. “We need to make a distraction. I want you to make a ruckus over there near the lamppost. Anything to get Firefly dude’s attention. “ Adrien nodded. “I am going over there and try to make that billboard fall down. It’s already halfway there, it just needs a little push,” Marinette explained. “That should be another good distraction until Chat Noir and Ladybug can make it here.” _But also a way to get us apart so I can transform…_

“Got it.” Adrien was about to turn away when he grabbed her hand. “Be careful, please?”

Marinette smiled. “Come on. I used to live with Alya. With her you learn to be careful really quickly,” Marinette winked. She ran in the opposite direction to Adrien and hauled herself onto the fire escape of the building that held the billboard. She easily reached the top.

It was much more windy on top of the roof. Marinette’s bangs were tossed every which way as she clambered towards the billboard. Staying low, Marinette lay her foot on the side of the board, waiting for Adrien to finish his distraction. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey Dingus Butt! ARE YOU MISSING SOMEBODY!??” Adrien called from his spot on the fallen lamppost. He lay against the arch of the post like Thomas ‘O’ Malley from Aristocats as he taunted the lightning bug villain. Marinette smiled as the villain, Luciole as Chat Noir called him, spun around towards Adrien. His black veil hid the features of his face, but Marinette could tell that he was ticked off.

“No I’m not,” Luciole called. “I’ve found you, my dear minou. You have come back to me!”

Marinette sneered. “Over my dead body.” She whispered and kicked with her foot. The billboard went flying into the air, landing on the pedestrian-free road below. Luciole wheeled towards the fallen billboard. As soon as Luciole was distracted, Marinette hid herself and quickly transformed. She stepped out of the shadows dressed in her spandex suit and called out to Luciole. “How are you, Baby Cakes!” Ladybug called down from on top of the roof. “Missed me?” She inquired, a smile playing on her lips. Luciole growled from down below her; he had been surveying the wreckage.

“As always!” called a voice. From the corner of her eye, Ladybug saw Chat Noir calling out to her from the streets. She smiled.

Luciole rolled his eyes at the two of them. “If you two just wanted to save that little old lady, go right ahead,” he said, bored. He removed his fireflies from the building, and let them swarm around him. As the tiny bugs unattached themselves from the building, the building itself started to crumble. The woman left inside the building screamed and screamed as she fell. Chat Noir dashed from his position to catch the woman and bring her to safety. The dust from the fallen building was starting to settle as Chat Noir gently carried her towards the paramedics. With Ladybug’s hearing she could just hear Chat trying to assure the lady that everything was alright, and he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to her. Chat was doing his job, so it was time, Ladybug decided, to do hers.

Ladybug stood her ground as Luciole flew up to her. “Remember me?” Ladybug asked coyly. She beat her eyelashes at him as she sneered.

Luciole stepped elegantly onto the building’s roof, beside her. He stuck a small tooth pick into his mouth and he started to pick at his teeth as he studied Ladybug. It was a few minutes of silence that Ladybug stood under his scrutiny, but she didn’t twitch an inch. This was her territory. He finally flicked away the pick and he rearranged his veil. “I believe so.” He fiddled with his hair next. “Aren’t you the one who got bitten by a spider?” He inquired. Marinette raised her eyebrow. “no……Well how about the one who got frozen since world war…..” Ladybug’s eyes bored into his. “Guess not…” Luciole stepped closer to Ladybug. “Then you must be the one who over shadows her partner, gets all the glory, but still can’t find a way to keep Paris safe..?”

Ladybug twitched.

Luciole smiled.

“I prefer the title of actively keeping Paris safe from lunatics like you, but I can’t win everything. Sometimes a title can’t be chosen by you…” Ladybug played with her yoyo, watching it roll up…then down. Up…then down. “Dingus Butt.”

Luciole twitched a little bit, but continued to grin. “I suppose not, Miss Marinette.”

Ladybug froze. “Excuse me…What?”

The villain looked down at his nails and started picking at them. “Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That is your name, if I’m not wrong?” Luciole took a glance up at Ladybug’s stricken face. “Thought so…” He whispered, grinning like a kid.

“Why would you think that!?” Ladybug growled sending her yoyo flying. The string wrapped round Luciole’s torso, but he seemed unbothered by this minor inconvenience.

“It’s quite simple really. See you look so similar in your civilian form. I’m quite surprised that no one else has figured you guys out.” He stretched his muscles, testing the wire. Satisfied with its hold, he relaxed. “Also your reaction is giving me all the answers I need.” He laughed maniacally.

Ladybug vehemently shook her head. “No…. It’s not just clear…….. you’ve done your research.” Marinette knew she was losing control of the situation fast. She needed to find his kryptonite fast. Her eyes raked his body as she tried to keep him talking. Only a few things stood out: his bracelet, his gauntlets, his veil, and his hearing aid. Any one of these things could hold his powers, but Ladybug seriously doubted it.

“Cat’s out of the bag, Ladybug,” Luciole whispered. “Ain’t nothing gonna stop me now,” he grinned. Ladybug launched forward and reached for the bracelet. Wrong pick.

As soon as Ladybug touched his wrist she was blown back. Luciole had touched his hearing aid, sending Ladybug even farther back. “I’m afraid this is how we’re going to have to end things this time, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Luciole was lift off of his feet and he floated above the fallen Ladybug. He fondled her cheek as he flew a little bit closer to the ground. “You are no match for me, my dear. That is why you cannot restore my wreckage. No one can stop me. Not you, not your kitty, and definitely not the police force.” Luciole continued to pet her cheek. Ladybug tried to fight him off, but she couldn’t move. Everything was going in and out like an old TV signal. Marinette couldn’t focus.

From just beyond her field of vision, Chat Noir jumped onto the roof of the building to protect his lady. The crowds watched in astonishment from below.

Chat Noir ran up to Luciole and began to attack. Kicks and punches were thrown right after one another in a volley of attacks. Luciole was able to dodge almost every one, except one. He earned one kick in the jaw. Luciole shook his head in astonishment. “You really are stupidly brave, kid.” Luciole touched his hearing aid as he roundhouse kicked Chat Noir. Chat collapsed against the roof tiles with his eyes screwed shut in pain. Ladybug saw him collapse in a pool of blood. Marinette couldn’t breathe.

Luciole smirked. “This is how you get inside people’s heads. It’s that simple,” he said more to himself than for the benefit of the two superheroes. “Have fun sorting out those memories.” Luciole called to his fog of fireflies and he flew off into the distance without a care in the world. He even started singing Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” as he faded away.

In a hazy state Ladybug stumbled over to her fallen companion. She cradled his bleeding head and placed it in her lap. Her vision blacked out before she could sweep his bangs out of his eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Here is another chapter. I love Hamilton, and I'm glad I included it in the fic. Also, sorry for hurting the characters at the end. I promise it will eventually get better...maybe. Anyway, thank you for reading and thank you for your feedback! I really appreciate it. Please leave a comment or some kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	15. Little Did You Know

Everything was cold. Marinette could not feel anything. It was as if she wasn’t a part of the universe anymore. Her body was weightless and insignificant. _Is this what it feels like to die?_ Marinette thought briefly. Her eyes opened and she found herself floating above Paris like a specter. She could see everything. Marinette saw her school from far above, as well as her parent’s bakery, Alya’s home, and the park. At a distance she could see the Eiffel Tower reaching towards the heavens. There were several dots surrounding the tower, like any normal day. On a normal day there would be tourists and Parisians alike traversing the streets, taking in all of the sights of Paris, but there were only a few people populating Paris right then. Marinette flew closer to the streets of Paris. Instead of children playing and adults walking the streets there were overturned cars and broken glass littering the streets. Paris was completely barren. There was just rubble. Marinette flew from one street to the next looking for people; her worry growing. In the middle of one street lay two people clad in leather-like suits. Marinette breathed a tiny sigh of relief and flew over to them. That is when she recognized them, and her heartbeat sped up.

She could see blood. Just a little bit of it was beading on top of a few cuts on both of the superheroes. Marinette tried to reach out and try to help them, but her touch went right through their skin as if she were a ghost. Marinette pulled back her pale hand and stared at it in shock. _I am a ghost…But why? And why am I brought here?_

The two superheroes in front of Marinette stirred and slowly sat up. They groaned slightly as they applied pressure to their cuts and bruises. Chat Noir was the first one up out of the two of them. Marinette stared at him and noticed how small he was. _But Chat’s taller than me now? Why does he look so young?_ Chat ruffled his short hair and rubbed his eyes. He helped Ladybug stand and they both brushed each other off. Marinette’s eyes trained on Ladybug now. She wore her hair in two, small little pigtails. Her face was small and round, and her body was like a child’s. _Why am I so young?_

“You ok?” Chat asked. He laid a hand on Ladybug’s shoulder and peered into her eyes. She nodded.

“Yeah. We were just knocked out pretty hard weren’t we?” Ladybug said.

“Just for a few moments, but yeah,” Chat admitted.

“Ok, we need to get back and find Hawkmoth. I have a feeling he will be at the Eiffel Tower for his monologue; he’ll want everyone watching,” Ladybug thought aloud. She unstrapped her yo-yo and offered a hand to Chat. “You wanna go?”

Chat kissed the proffered hand. “It would be a pleasure, My Lady.” Ladybug rolled her eyes and shoved her hand into his

“Come on, you crazy cat.” Ladybug threw her yo-yo at a nearby building and launched the two of them into the air. Marinette followed closely behind.

The streets that Ladybug and Chat Noir flew above were very familiar, but seemed out of date. _Come to think of it, everything looks like it did six years ago_ , Marinette pondered. Marinette looked a little closer at the Chat Noir and Ladybug in front of her. _They look so young and naïve. This battle is a game to them, like any other akuma. Yes they are saving Paris, but they both believe that everything will turn out fine in the end, no matter what._ Marinette breathed heavily as she realized. _This is my memory. I am watching the last battle of Hawkmoth’s._

In front of the Eiffel Tower stood Hawkmoth. He was opening and closing his mouth as he read off his long and extensive speech that he had probably been planning for months. The words were lost on Marinette; they were not that important.

Ladybug and Chat Noir circled around the Eiffel Tower, getting ever closer to Hawkmoth. His smile deepened as they slipped closer and closer. He paused in his speech to open the top of his staff. Out of the top of it, thousands of black butterflies flew out into Paris. Hawkmoth’s grin deepened.

Marinette could feel Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s panic, even though they did not show it. Everyone in Paris watched in horror as the butterflies took victim after victim. Practically every civilian was turned into an akuma. Children, adults, teens, and elders were taken and transformed. Each akumatized victim would then make their way to the Eiffel Tower where Ladybug and Chat Noir were waiting for them.

The last battle was intense. Marinette watched from above as Ladybug and Chat Noir purified victim, after victim. Soon all that was left was Hawkmoth. He lay hidden in the iron bars of the Eiffel Tower, desperately trying to make his miraculous work, but it was no use. Ladybug and Chat Noir found him quickly. Ladybug snatched the miraculous off of his necktie and watched as he de-transformed, freeing the butterfly kawami at last.

Little words were spared as the man who had been Hawkmoth was put into custody by the police. Marinette never met this man before except when she unveiled him as Hawkmoth in this moment. Watching this memory over again, Marinette remembered how she never knew exactly who he was, and why he had such a vengeance against Paris.

 The man didn’t’ say a word as his hands were wrapped behind his back by the police. He only grinned at Ladybug, chuckling. Ladybug held his gaze. Chat Noir joined her hand in his as he collected the gaze as well. Just before the civilian was pushed into the police car, he whispered: “Thank you for granting my wish. I have always wanted to see my sister again.” He was pushed into the car and was driven away. Ladybug turned her attention to the brooch. She popped it open and inside lay a single picture of a fair-skinned woman with bright green eyes and silvery-blonde hair. Ladybug heard Chat’s sharp intake of breath as he leaned over her shoulder.

“Tha-That’s my mother…” he whispered. “I don’t get it. She said she was an only…is that why she left?” Chat’s shaky hand took the brooch to examine it. He looked close to the picture and petted the picture with the pad of his finger. Suddenly Chat screeched suddenly, dropping the brooch. As soon as it hit the ground it shattered. “What’s wrong,” Ladybug asked urgently. She reached towards him, but he stepped away from her.

“STAY AWAY!” He screamed. Ladybug watched with her eyes wide. Her hands hovered over his shoulder, but they never touched. He started to bleed all over and his eyes turned purple as a hazy mist flitted out of his body. Both Ladybug and Marinette watched in horror as they watched Chat collapse.

Marinette couldn’t breathe. She was watching what had broken her over and over again all of those years ago. It got worse every time she thought about it. She was stuck in a time loop of watching Chat die again, and again, and again, even when she shut her eyes. She knew that she couldn’t help him. It was only a memory; she couldn’t change what had happened. She was stuck watching him die. Marinette wanted to cry out and beat against the box that was holding her in, but nothing was working. He was gone.

_Wait that’s not right…This is a memory. If Chat died here, he wouldn’t be alive six years later…Chat Noir, My Chat Noir is alive_. Using all of her mind power, Marinette forced her eyes open. What awaited her was a very different scenario.

Both she and Chat were sitting in front of the unbroken brooch watching it carefully. No civilians were around them and the few policemen that were around them acted like they weren’t there. Marinette found she could not get her body to move, not even blink. The memory that Marinette had believed for so long turned out untrue. Chat was not dying or bleeding, or anything. The only thing she noticed was a smoke-like substance petering out of their eyes. Looking close at the smoke Marinette saw memories of the last Hawkmoth battle flicker and blinked out. Some memories were being twisted or taken away. This was why Marinette could not remember anything about the last battle up until now. Someone, for some reason felt that it was needed to tamper with the memories.

Marinette watched as the last bit of memory flitted into the air and into the brooch. Footsteps pounded in Marinette’s ear and soon a shadow loomed over the top of Ladybug and Chat Noir. The stranger picked up the brooch and left his hand hovering over it. The brooch popped open and several dozens of fireflies flew out of it. As the fireflies flew away the man pocketed the brooch and grinned down at the two superheroes.

The man was young. He looked like a teenager. He wore dark clothing and a filthy smirk. He briefly touched the hearing aid attached to his ear, sending a wave of light into the air. People on the streets of Paris froze as well as the cars, and the hands on the clock of the biggest bell tower. With another touch of the ear piece Ladybug and Chat Noir were levitated off of the ground. They were brought to the teenager’s eye level and he started talking to them immediately. “Hello Ladybug and Chat Noir. So nice to meet you.” He did a mock curtsy. “I’ve been waiting for this day to come for a while. The day where everything starts. You don’t have a clue what I’m saying right now, but you will someday.”

“You see, I have and will be taking your memories and playing with them a little. I will do so with the rest of Paris as well, but that comes later. You two are first on my list. You honestly are no danger to me, but it’s good to cover all the bases. You two are more annoying than anything. Anyway, there is a point to messing with everyone’s memories. One, I have been given the power to do so with this:” he pointed to his hearing aid. “Two, it’s fun to see people tortured. And three, I want people to get scared.” The young teenager started to pace back and forth. “I want people to get so scared that they can’t remember everything. I want them to get scared about losing their protectors. I want them to be so scared they’ll just block off that part of their memories; make it forbidden. That way I can do all of my work without people noticing. People will move on from the strange akumas. I want them to be so scared they forget. But for you guys…”

Suddenly with a touch of the earlobe Ladybug and Chat Noir were thrown to the ground. Then up again. Then down again. He finally let them collapse onto the ground, bleeding. “I want you to go to hell and back.” He snarled. “I want you guys to have so much trauma you won’t want to come back.” The boy looked directly at Marinette, who had been watching the memory from afar. “I want you to know that you have just made it to the entrance of hell. What you will start to remember will be much worse than what I’ve created for you.” The stranger left Ladybug on the pavement below the Eiffel Tower as he threw Chat over his shoulder and to drop him somewhere else in Paris. “Good Luck!” he called. With a flick of the wrist time started again and Marinette’s vision went black.

000

A series of memories flashed before Marinette’s eyes. Some of them were new, while others were known. Alya found her at the base of the tower and carried her to her home. Alya was there every moment that her friend needed her for the next several months of recovery. She kept the identity hidden and cared for her friend through the post-traumatic stress. Alya and Marinette’s parents kept Marinette as healthy as possible and tried their hardest to make her better. It was the most they could do, and Marinette still appreciated it. If they had not been there for her, Marinette realized, she would not be standing here today.

The scene that Marinette was plopped in to watch from afar was one where she saw herself throwing up again and again into the toilet of her bathroom. Alya came rushing in and rubbed Marinette’s back until the sickness subsided.

“Do you want to talk?” Alya asked tentatively, pulling Marinette’s hair away from her face soothingly. Marinette shook her head weakly.

“Not really. It’s the same as always. It just repeats, and repeats….” Marinette choked on her tears, and Alya pulled her into a hug.

“Just breath. He can’t be gone. Tikki would know right?” Alya asked, glancing at the kawami who was sleeping fitfully on Marinette’s bed.

“Yeah, I think so,” Marinette choked out.

“Besides,” Alya hugged Marinette tighter and pointed to her chest. “He’s still there right? Chat cared about you, and you him. He’s still there in your heart…” The memory faded out and Marinette was left with a tightness in her chest.

The next thing Marinette saw were herself and her three friends graduating. Marinette remembered this day well. It was one of the days she finally felt like herself again after returning to school. The four friends sat through graduation and stood in a line to get that one piece of paper to show their effort and perseverance. At the end they all laughed as they threw their caps in the air.

Once the ceremony was completed the four stood together outside the school on the steps hugging and laughing telling stories of their teenage years. Promises to stay in touch were said, but Marinette knew they were not kept. It was a very bittersweet memory. It was a turning point in her life.

Just before the group was about to go, Adrien pulled Marinette aside. Marinette did not remember this ever happening, so she zeroed in on the pair, hoping to catch their conversation.

“Hey Mari, can I talk to you about something?” Adrien questioned quietly. Marinette nodded.

“Sure what’s wrong?”

Adrien fidgeted with the end of his shirt sleeves. “I was wondering if you’ve felt weird lately?” He said slowly. Marinette gave him a blank look, although her eyes flickered with conflicted emotions. “I know this sounds weird, but I feel like I’ve lost some of my memories completely, like months at a time. I’ve asked around and a few others feel the same way, I was just wondering if you…?” Adrien paused, leaving his sentence unfinished. Marinette continued to give him a clueless look.

“No, I’m pretty sure I haven’t had any memory losses.” Marinette tightened her jaw. She laid a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “Are you alright, Adrien?”

A glassy look had glazed over Adrien’s eyes and his brows furrowed as if he was feeling slight discomfort. “Yeah I think so…?” Adrien suddenly took Marinette’s hands and he looked deep into her eyes. “You were gone for four months. Why?”

Memory Marinette looked at Adrien like he had lost his mind. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I never left.” She said firmly. The two of them suddenly stood stock still as their eyes glazed over. Out of their eyes flew a few fireflies. Then the two just abruptly turned away from each other and headed home.

That was the last memory to be returned. It left Marinette with a shaky feeling. _How did Adrien have the same symptoms??_

000

Marinette could see light. She could feel its warmth heating her skin. She was lying flat on her back on a slab of pavement. Whispers, yells, and the sound of cameras flashing surrounded her. Marinette blinked blearily as she sat up. The first thing she saw were reporters reaching over police tape to try and reach her. An ambulance team was on her left, huddled over a black leather clad person. _Chat_.

Very slowly Marinette got up, and the medical team immediately noticed. They rushed towards her, peppering her with questions about her state. Ladybug held up a hand. “I am okay, guys. I must’ve forgotten to drink water. Sorry.” The medical team looked at her skeptically and Ladybug offered them a tired smile. “If you want to double check, go right ahead. But I can assure you that I am fine.” A nurse went up to Ladybug and tested her to check, and she was fine. _I am anything but fine,_ Marinette thought to herself as she pushed towards Chat , ignoring the rest of the personnel and the reporters. _I literally just learned about a part of my life that I never knew existed. Of course I’m not fine._

Chat lay on the pavement like Marinette had a few moments before. He was starting to stir as she got closer. The medical team quickly checked his vitals, but got out of Ladybug’s way as soon as possible. They knew the superheroes well enough to let them be. One medical personnel stood a little closer to them because she was determined to make sure the superheroes were fine. Personally she would have liked to wrap them in bubble wrap, but it was against the code.

“Chat,” Ladybug whispered. She sat quickly beside Chat and watched him as he woke. Ladybug sat silently beside him. She wanted to hug him tight to see if he was alright. She wanted to share everything she had learned to verify everything. But she restrained herself. Chat’s health came first.

Chat’s eyes opened sluggishly and he took in in his surroundings. Within seconds Ladybug caught his eye and he immediately turned to her. “Ladybug…” Chat’s face broke into a smile. Ladybug sat cross-legged next to him, beaming at him. Her hands were folded underneath her butt as she waited to hug him. Chat’s arms supported his weight as he tried to sit upright. His eyes were a little too dilated, as if he was on some type of drug.

“You ok?” Chat whispered.

“I’ve been better,” Ladybug’s replied. Ladybug held up her arms a little bit in a (hopefully) welcoming shape. “May I?”

“God, yes” was the only answer Ladybug needed, and she launched herself into his arms. Chat made an “oof” noise, surprised at her enthusiasm, but he returned her tight embrace. Ladybug tucked her nose against his bare neck and breathed deeply. From what she had seen of him he was ok. He was breathing. Had a regular heartbeat. No blood pouring from any orifices. She ran her hands softly against his body to check just in case. Ladybug did not really know what she just witnessed in her mind’s eye. It seemed to be unlocked memories, but she couldn’t be sure. She wanted to sort it all out with Chat. They needed to assess the situation then take action. The mental rest that Marinette needed would come later. Ladybug pulled a little bit back from Chat, but found herself trapped.

“Just a little longer?” Chat whispered. “Please?” the pads of his fingers clung to the sides of Ladybug a little tighter, pulling her closer. Ladybug let herself fall closer into the hug and she rubbed his back, the part between his shoulder blades.

“I’m here. I won’t ever leave if you won’t.” Ladybug nuzzled her nose closer to his lower neck enjoying his breath on her baby hairs.

“Never,” he breathed.

The voice of a nasally news reporter interrupted the quiet moment between Ladybug and Chat Noir. “Would you look at that. Our two superheroes have once again saved Paris from a fearful new villain. For some reason, after the battle, they collapsed. Medical personnel attended to them immediately. At the site here we have not heard about why this has happened, but both Ladybug and Chat Noir are now awake and are having an adorable romantic moment!” Ladybug pulled her head away from Chat’s and subtly glared at the news crew as the camera zoomed in on the two. Luckily someone came to their rescue.

“Hey Guys! Back off the Lawn! Does this look like your property? NO! Of course not. So get off!” A bossy blonde stepped out in front of the reporters and blocked their way. Her designer sunglasses were perched on the bridge of her nose and her hair was pulled back into a tight pony-tail. She glared at the reporters until they were running far away. She ignored the two superheroes as she then went up to the emergency squad and had a quick word with them. In a matter of minutes she had everyone packing. All except for the two superheroes.

Chloe Bourgeois sidled up to the two superheroes. She pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head and put her hands on her hips. Ladybug opened her mouth to speak, but Chloe beat her to it.

“You need a place to recharge and recover. Come with me.” Chloe marched off across the lawn in front of the hotel that belonged to her family without a glance behind her. Ladybug looked at Chat Noir with a raised eyebrow. Chat shrugged and got up to follow Chloe. Ladybug did not move to follow him.

“Come on, Ladybug,” Chat whispered. Ladybug shook her head and crossed her arms like a toddler. “Oh come on, don’t be such a baby. We need a place to recover together and talk, and right now this is our best option.”

“But it’s her,” Ladybug whispered disgustedly.

Chat rolled his eyes. “You are the savior of Paris, and you have an image that you need to keep, so get up!” Chat heaved Ladybug up and pushed her towards the entrance to the hotel. Ladybug begrudgingly followed Chat in, muttering to herself.

Inside the hotel, Chloe Bourgeois walked around like she owned the place, which on second thought she probably did. She ordered around the staff to do this and that while the two superheroes trailed behind her. She ushered to a bell boy and whispered instructions to him. She smiled when he nodded and ran off. She continued to smile as she led the superheroes into the elevator. Marinette’s jaw almost fell off her face with astonishment. This was not the Chloe she knew; she had definitely grown up. Marinette didn’t even know that was possible.

The doors to the elevator closed and Chloe turned her attention to them. “I know you two need somewhere to discuss all the stuff that’s been going on and a place to recharge your kawamis..”

Ladybug interrupted her. “How do you kn-?”

“I took care of him after the Hawkmoth battle.” Chloe jerked her thumb towards Chat Noir. “Anyway, I’m giving you guys a room for tonight so you guys can get your heads going in the right direction. You’ll find everything you need in the room.” The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. “Call for me or Sabrina if you need anything.” Chloe handed them a key and pushed them out of the elevator. “Your room is 364, free of charge.”

Chat Noir grasped the keys and nodded to Chloe. “Thank you.” He grabbed Ladybug’s hand and started to pull her down the hallway, but Ladybug pulled out of his grasp. She placed her hands on her hips and huffed.

“Now wait a gosh-darn minute! Why are you doing this for us?! Yeah, we’re superheroes, but last time I checked you would do nothing for anybody but yourself, Chloe! There’s got to be a reason why you’re doing this!” Ladybug exclaimed.

Chloe looked Marinette straight in the eyes with the most serious face Marinette had ever seen on her. “Hawkmoth’s battle did a number on all of us, Ladybug. I got a wake-up call when A-Chat Noir stumbled into my room that one night.” Chloe saw the recognition in Ladybug’s eyes. “Yeah, that night. Much like your friend who took care of you; I took care of Chat Noir. As soon as he trusted me with his identity I knew that I was going to have to grow up.” Chloe took a breath. “This room is the most I can do at the moment to help you guys, so please just take it.” The elevator doors closed, leaving Ladybug and Chat Noir alone on the third floor.

“You could have been a little nicer,” Chat commented, as he turned down the hallway with the key.

Ladybug left her hands on her hips. “Well I didn’t know she took care of you after the akuma attack! I didn’t know she could be trusted.  All I knew about her was the girl I knew from school, who was a brat!”

Chat glared at Ladybug. “Well you never thought to ask me did you? You just assumed,” Chat said curtly. He jammed the keys into the hotel room door lock and turned the handle.

Ladybug fell silent and twiddled with her pinkie. “I didn’t think…”

“Yeah, I know you didn’t,” Chat replied, slamming the keys on the mini kitchen counter. On the kitchen counter were two plates. One was filled with different types of cheeses while the other was piled high with cookies. Chat grabbed the plate of cheeses and marched off towards the bathroom. “I’m going to de-transform.” With a slam of the bathroom door, Chat left Ladybug alone in the hotel room.

Ladybug picked up the plate of cookies and carried them with her inside of a broom closet. With a beep of her miraculous, Marinette de-transformed. Marinette caught Tikki on the cookie plate as her kawami flew out of the transformation. Tikki gave Marinette a tired smile. “Thank you,” she whispered. Marinette laid the plate on the floor and sat down on the floor beside the plate. She broke of a chunk of a chocolate chip cookie and passed it to Tikki. With her small hands, Tikki grasped the chunk and gobbled it down. Marinette broke off another piece and watched as Tikki gobbled it down. This continued until Tikki was completely full and shining again.

Marinette collapsed against one of the walls of the small cleaning cupboard. Her nostrils stung at the ripe smell of bleach and floor wax. Marinette closed her eyes in exhaustion. Tikki flew up next to Marinette’s cheek and nuzzled it. “You doing alright, love?” she asked quietly, Marinette opened her eyes weakly and smiled a little at the kawami.

“Not really, but I’ll make it through. The memories were shocking, and I don’t really know how to cope with them, but I’ll be alright.” Marinette tucked her head against her knees and took deep breaths and imagined someone holding her tight. That was what Alya had told her to think about if she felt herself starting to panic. It worked, but it didn’t change the fact that Marinette felt alone, even with Tikki nuzzled against her cheek. She felt too alone with her thoughts.

_Little do you know how I’m breaking while you fall asleep. Little do you know I’m still haunted by the memories. Little did you know I’m trying to pick myself up, piece by piece. Little did you know I…just need a little more…time_ Marinette sang a song inside her head, one that she heard once on the radio.

Outside the closet she heard creaks in the floorboards and heard someone step closer to the door. There was a knock. “Ladybug?” Chat Noir called quietly. “Are you doing ok?” Marinette could hear the worry in his voice, and could almost hear the loneliness in his voice too.

Marinette coughed. “Yeah, I guess I’m doing ok…Could be a lot better.”

“Yeah,” Chat let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry for getting mad at you. That was wrong of me. We’re both stressed right now, and have been for a long time….We’ve never really talked about those memories…” he said very quietly. “Did you see those memories?” Chat asked, almost scared that he was wrong.

“Yeah, I saw them.” Marinette held her knees closer to her chest. “And apology accepted. You’re right…we haven’t really talked about that time..”

“Do you mind if we talk about them now? I don’t know about you, but seeing those memories made me feel lonelier than when I didn’t know about them. And I kind of…” Chat paused and started the sentence again. “I kind of want to know you’re here. God, I know this is going to sound weird, but I just want to hold you and know that you are here.”

Marinette was silent.

“I mean if you don’t want me to, that’s fine too. But I also have these blindfold, mask things that we could use to keep our identities hidden, if you want. Only if you want because-“ Chat rambled on.

Marinette beamed and opened up the door wide enough so her hand and arm could reach out to him. Chat was still standing, so Marinette grasped his ankle and rubbed her thumb against his skin. Marinette felt him bend down and grasped her hand. He kissed the back of it softly and then turned her hand so that her palm was pointing up. He placed a length of cloth in her hand and pushed her arm gently towards the closet.

Marinette retracted her hand and tied on her blindfold. “I have it on,” Chat whispered.

“So do I,” Marinette replied and opened the door. Tikki flew off of Marinette’s shoulder as soon as the door was opened and flew off to join the other kawami. Marinette reached out her arms, and Chat did the same, and they walked towards each other until they bonked heads. The two giggled and whispered apologies. Their arms wrapped around each other so that they were each holding each other. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck while Chat wrapped his around her waist. Marinette’s head rested against the upper part of Chat’s chest and quickly found his heartbeat. The only thing Marinette could think about was one line of the song she had in her head. _So lay your head on me,_ was the lyric that just repeated inside her head in time to Chat’s heartbeat.

They stood there like that for a few minutes until Chat whispered: “Do you want to head over to the couch?” Marinette nodded in response. Because of the blindfolds the two stumbled over furniture around the small hotel room until they collapsed onto the sofa. The two instinctively curled into each other: wrapping their legs together, head, arms, and the rest of their bodies together. The light cologne that Chat always had on was stronger now that there was no leather masking it, and that the two were now closer together. Marinette nuzzled her head into Chat’s breast as he rubbed his nose against the back of her neck like a kitten.

_I love you like I’ve never felt the pain, just wait. I’ll love you like I’ve never been afraid, just wait. Our love is here and here to stay. So lay your head on me…_

Chat’s warmth seeped into Marinette’s body and she snuggled closer to it. She felt the safest she’d been in for a while. She felt the same emotions that she felt the night she slow danced with Chat and talked into the wee hours of the morning like they did when they were teenagers. Everything felt right. “So we have a crazy teenager after us,” Chat murmured into the fabric of Marinette’s shirt.

“He took our memories and pretty much the rest of Paris’s to meddle with them,” Marinette replied sleepily.

“The fireflies are the memories and work like the butterflies did with Hawkmoth.”

“We are not his main enemy…” Marinette interrupted.

“But we’re in his way,” Chat murmured.

“And he knows our identities…” Marinette continued.

“And we should know his. He seems to have a connection to Hawkmoth,”

“Who happens to be your Uncle,” Marinette added.

“Yeah, we never got around to talking about that after the final battle, did we?” Chat asked. Marinette shook her head. “I didn’t even know I had an Uncle on that side.” Marinette nudged Chat for more answers. “My mother left when I was really young, so I never really knew anything about her side of the family. It was always about my father and his side,” Chat finished.

Inside Marinette’s mind she was ticking off an imaginary list. _Lost his mother…Bad relationship with father…could Chat be Adrien?...good friends with Chloe…Mothers look the same…_

“With this guy possibly being a family connection to me, we’re going to have to do some research. Maybe go to my family’s church to check birth records. We can look for a Luciole…” Chat rambled, thinking out loud.

Marinette nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. This Luciole also mentioned a swan and wolf miraculous so maybe we can go and see master Fu for some help there,” Marinette mused.

Late into the night the two superheroes lay awake planning their next moves. They also planned their next four rendezvous to go search for information. At one a.m. Marinette and Chat were lazily planning their speech to the public when Chat collapsed onto Marinette’s back with a loud snore. Marinette giggled sleepily and tucked herself closer to Chat’s core. His warmth lulled her to sleep in a matter of seconds.

Tikki and Plagg laughed from afar. They had watched the two young adults all night, giggling at their blindfolds. On nights like these they were exactly like their teenage selves. In times like these, they felt like nothing had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Here is a chapter full of plot and fluff!! I hope you liked it. I'm sorry for injuring the characters a little bit, but everything will be okay. This chapter is based off of the song "Little Did you Know" by Alex and Sierra. We are getting closer and closer to where I am now with my story! yeah!!! Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like, and thank you for reading! Until I write again, TTFN!


	16. Something Just Like This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually know how to make croissants.

It was very cold, and Marinette didn’t know why. Underneath a blanket, Marinette curled tighter around herself, but found no warmth. Everything was really cold. With a small grumble, Marinette stretched her arms outside of the blanket and opened her eyes.

Sunlight streamed onto the couch that Marinette was laying on. She blinked at the brightness. The curtains were pulled back to reveal the beautiful sunrise behind the Eiffel Tower. It was a view that Marinette was not accustomed to. Marinette crinkled her eyebrows and looked around the room that she had apparently been sleeping in. _What the hell?_ Marinette spied an exquisite display of plates on an ornate table with a luxurious breakfast placed in the middle. _This is not my apartment, that’s for sure_. Marinette threw the blanket off of her legs and she pivoted so that her toes sank into the fuzzy carpet placed between the sofa and the coffee table. Marinette reached out for the closest cup of coffee on the table, and let its warmth seep into her fingers as she breathed in the heavenly aroma. Enjoying the cup of coffee, Marinette once again looked out the large windows to contemplate the view.

The coffee woke Marinette up slowly, and the memories of yesterday resurfaced as her mind woke up. The firefly attack; the memories; the feeling of being safe as she fell asleep in Chat’s arms were all memories that reappeared. Marinette sighed as she sipped her coffee. Marinette glanced beside her and found Chat gone. A pair of make-shift masks lay discarded on the pillows of the couch. Marinette stilled. Her hands flew to her face and found her mask from last night gone. _Oh no!! I’ve accidentally revealed y identity to Chat! God what is Tikki going to say? Did Chat notice? Did he leave because he didn’t like how I actually am?_ Marinette started to freak out as the worst possible scenarios flooded through her mind.

“It’s okay, Marinette,” a small voice whispered. Marinette looked up, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Tikki. “Chat didn’t see anything,” Tikki explained.

Marinette let her head fall back against the couch and drank a long sip from her coffee. “So identities still good?” Marinette asked, her voice a little shaky from her momentary freak out.

Tikki giggled. “Yep, no worries.” Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek. “Chat only saw your mask lying to the side, so he just closed his eyes and got in the shower not too long ago.” Tikki nodded her head towards the bathroom. Marinette could faintly hear the patter of water hitting the tiles of the shower floor and a low murmur of music that she recognized. Marinette sat up and gently placed her coffee mug back on the table. “Are you alright from yesterday?” she asked.

Tikki nodded. “Yeah, nothing happened to me. Plagg and I were worried about you two though.” Chat’s kawami flew up next to Tikki and waved at Marinette with a wheel of cheese in his hands. “Hi, princess.”

Marinette smiled. “Nice to meet you Plagg.” Marinette reached her hand out and gently shook his paw. She turned back to Tikki. “I think Chat and I are better since last night’s talk, but we were both very shocked at what lengths that Lucien went to to try and hurt us.”

Tikki nodded. “I agree. There’s something wrong with that Lucien boy. I heard you two were planning to meet Master Fu soon. I think it would be best to do it sooner than later.” Plagg nodded his agreement. “There’s a lot that we still don’t know about this dude. We can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

Tikki flew up to Marinette’s shoulder. “It was very good of you two to make a plan last night. Good job. You guys also deserved the rest.” Tikki gently bumped Marinette with her shoulder. “And thankfully the rest turned out to be a little more comfortable than thought??” Tikki gave Marinette a sly wink. Marinette rolled her eyes, and chose to ignore her. She cocked her ear as she asked: “I wonder what song he is listening to? It sounds familiar?’ Tikki shrugged her shoulder. “It sounds like something you would listen to.”

 Marinette got up, off of the couch and walked closer to the bathroom. “I think I’ll go and investigate.” Tikki and Plagg rolled their eyes.

“Is she always this stubborn,” Plagg asked Tikki quietly.

Tikki nodded. “Just as stubborn as Adrien I hear. Those two will be the end of me, I swear.”

Marinette walked through the master bedroom of the suite and closer to the bathroom until she was right outside of it. She listened carefully to the words to the song to try and pick out what the song was.

The clink of soft piano keys played the intro to a second verse, and Marinette heard Chat take a breath to sing along. “I’m sorry I don’t understand where all of this is coming from. I thought that we were fine.”

Marinette had not heard this song in a while; practically a year since she last heard it. Chat’s voice was singing along to the song beautifully, albeit a little screechy some of the time (he honestly sounded like a dying cat). The way he sang reminded Marinette of someone, but she couldn’t pinpoint who. She just remembered singing this song at her first meeting with Adrien, or rather Trouble.

“Your head is running wild again. My dear we still have everything, and it’s all….in your mind,” Chat sang quietly.

Without thinking about it, Marinette started to sing along. “Yeah, but this is happening.”

“You’ve been having real bad dreams. Oh, oh…You used to lie so close to me. Oh, oh…There’s nothing more than empty sheets…between our love…our love,” Chat and Marinette sang. Marinette didn’t want to give herself away, so she kept to whispering along to the words, enjoying the sound of Chat singing along. The more she listened to his voice, though the more she couldn’t get it out of her mind.

“Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough. Just a second; we’re not broken, just bent and we can learn to love again! I never stop, you’re still written in the scars on my heart. We’re not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again.”

Marinette leaned up against the wall next to the bathroom door and sang slightly louder as the song came to the bridge. She looked down at her hands as they fidgeted. _Why is this so familiar_? “Give our tear ducts a rest. I’ll fix it for us. We’re collecting dust, but our love’s enough!”

“You’re holding it in!” Chat sang.

“You’re pouring a drink..” Marinette replied.

“No, nothing is as bad…as ….it…. seems. We’ll come clean!!!!” Marinette and Chat sang louder. The shower turned off and Marinette stopped singing instantly. _Oh no, did he notice me singing along?_ She knew that she should probably get away from the bathroom before Chat came out, but she stayed put; entranced in the moment as Chat continued to sing. This was a bad choice.

The bathroom door popped open and Chat sidled into the hotel bedroom, shaking his wet hair out in his towel, not seeing her immediately. Marinette let out a loud squeak as she saw Chat half clothed with no mask on. Her squeak alerted him and he swiveled his head up. Marinette dropped her head immediately to hide her face. “What the hell are you doing!!!!!?” Marinette yelped.

Chat Noir grabbed his towel and held it over his face as he stumbled backwards, falling on the bed. Chat landed ungracefully on top of it. “I don’t know!” Chat cried. He sat up, still holding the towel to his face. “I thought you were still asleep!”

Marinette glared at Chat through her fingers. “Asleep! Me being asleep wouldn’t be any better! You are not wearing a mask or anything at all!!!!!!!!!”  The two of them were blushing furiously, avoiding looking at each other because of their identities, but also Chat’s nakedness. Tikki and Plagg cackled at the two blind kids sprawled on the floor from their vantage point out in the hall.

Chat spluttered. “Well yeah it would help for you to be asleep! You wouldn’t see me practically naked! What are you even doing in here anyway!?”

Marinette’s hand felt for the edge of the wall, and she hauled herself up. “Yeah, well I heard singing and I investigated. I just happened to come in at the wrong time.”

Chat let out a laugh. “Yeah, timing could have been better.” Marinette stuck her tongue out at him as she heard him get up off of the bed. “Sorry about hitting you with that door,” Chat added sheepishly. He clutched to his towel as he scrambled to stand up.

Marinette fiddled with her hair, scrapping it out of her face. “I’m sorry too. Curiosity killed the cat, I guess.”

“But satisfaction brought it back,” Chat added.  Marinette smiled weakly.

“I never heard the second part…” Marinette said quietly, trying to ease up the conversation.

Chat rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, most people forgot it because it doesn’t give the best moral, but it is handy when you want to get away with something,” he rambled. The two laughed awkwardly and just stood there in silence, unsure of how to move on. “Alright. Um….” Chat paused, listening to the awkward silence that was growing between them. “Would you mind leaving the room for a little bit so I can get dressed????” Chat asked suddenly.

Marinette immediately blushed and started stumbling towards the bathroom. “Oh, yeah, of course! Getting naked you was not, I mean I have to get naked, I mean I’m going to take a shower….while I’ll you let change, I mean…” Marinette cleared her throat and started again. “I mean, I will take a shower while you get changed.” Marinette ducked into the bathroom and slammed the door closed, ending the conversation. She breathed an instant sigh of relief. “Why am I so weird?” Marinette shook her head and turned on the shower. “You just had to see him naked, making everything weird,” she mumbled to herself as she arranged the stuff on the sink. Marinette shuffled around some hotel towels that were on the sink, and something clunked onto the floor. Marinette bent down and picked up the phone that had fallen. She turned it over in her hands. _This must be Chat’s phone_. It was black and white, but had a ladybug and cat phone charm. Marinette pressed the home button and let the phone turn on. The background of the phone was a picture of two people smiling at the camera in a selfie pose. In that picture stood herself and Adrien Agreste. Marinette remembered taking that picture. It was the day she went to the faire with Adrien. Adrien had taken the picture. _Why does Chat have this saved on his phone?_ Marinette loved to deny the truth, but she couldn’t deny it for long.

Marinette jumped into the shower and quickly washed herself and her hair, trying to erase the thoughts racing round her brain. Once she finished with her shower she rapidly wrapped the towel around herself and peaked into the bedroom to check if the coast was clear. Chat was nowhere to be seen. Marinette scurried into the bedroom and quickly shoved on her day old clothes. _I wonder how I’m going to get home today?_ Marinette thought to herself, collecting hers and Chat’s phones. Her phone was ringing off the hook, catching her attention. She picked up the call to find both of her parents yelling into their end. “MARINETTE! You finally picked up!”

Marinette held the phone far away from her ear. “Yeah, I’m here,” she replied, raising her eyebrows.

“Thank goodness; we were starting to worry. We heard about the battle with Ladybug and Chat Noir, and we were worried that you were close to it. Are you safe? Where are you?” Marinette’s dad questioned. He sounded relieved at her voice.

Marinette smiled at his concern. “Yes, Papa. I’m fine.” She looked around the hotel room searching for something that would work as a mask or blindfold. “I’m home at my apartment, as I usually am.” Marinette scratched the back of her head, ruffling her wet hair.

“It doesn’t sound like you are?” her papa said suspiciously. A large police siren went off in the street below the hotel, making Marinette flinch. That rarely happened in Marinette’s apartment, and her parents knew that.

Marinette cleared her throat. “Of course I’m at home. “ Marinette quickly searched around her room for her thigs. “Um, why are you calling by the way??” Marinette’s hands flew around in the air, trying to find a comfortable spot to place them, as she lied to her parents.

“We wanted to check if you were all right. But your mother and I were also wondering if you were still planning to come to the bakery today?” Tom asked, sounding a little worried. “You didn’t come as early as you usually do so…?”

Marinette silently cursed. “Oh, yeah, I’m coming! I just woke up…ah accidently slept in…I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Marinette fell into a desk by the bed, making a large thump. She heard Chat call out to ask her if she was alright. “Yeah!” she managed to yell.

“Who is that?” Tom demanded.

Marinette started to sweat a little bit, but then she came up with a quick lie. “Oh it was just Adrien.”

“Adrien?” Tom repeated.

Marinette sighed. “Yes Dad. You know how prone I am to falling into things. Adrien has just taken up asking me if I’m alright. Which I am. Nothing weird about that. Just your clumsy daughter,” Marinette insisted.

Tom laughed. “Yep, that is my daughter. Alright, I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

Marinette hauled herself up from the floor and attempted to sound normal. “Yep, love you too.” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up. “Shit” she whispered.

Marinette got up and grabbed her purse as she walked into the hotel living room, slapping a piece of fabric onto her face. “Alright Tikki! Time to leave!” Marinette stumbled blindfolded through the hotel, looking utterly ridiculous. Mariette bumped into the sofa then the small dining table and then into the kitchen island. Tikki whizzed up to Marinette with several cookies in her hand.

“Do you have everything?” Tikki asked, stuffing Marinette’s purse with cookies while looking around the hotel room to check if Marinette had everything for her.

Marinette nodded, tucking her phone into her purse. In her other hand she kept Chat’s phone in her grasp. “Yep, I do.” Marinette made her way slowly out of the mini kitchen calling for Chat. “Chat! Chat!” Marinette bumped into him mid-sentence. She immediately pulled back. Chat cleared his throat.

“I, um, I’m right here, My Lady.”

Marinette cleared her throat as well and pushed his phone into his hand. “You left your phone in the bathroom.”

Chat’s bare hands grasped his phone, letting the pads of his fingers brush against hers. “Thank you. Do you have to go?” Chat asked softly.

Marinette nodded. “Yeah. I forgot that I have to meet up with my parents and I have to make sure my roommate made it back safely last night.” Marinette had suspicions that her roommate was perfectly comfy last night, but if he was not the man in front of her, he was probably worried sick about where she went yesterday.

Marinette felt Chat tense. “Oh shoot. Yah I have to go too. PLAGG! We gotta go!” Chat yelled. Plagg flew slowly into the room mumbling grumpily. “Come on Plagg! Transforme moi!” A flash of green and black burned Marinette’s vision from behind the blindfold.

Marinette reached out for Tikki. “Spots on!” The exhilarating magic of the transformation rushed over her. When she opened her eyes, the blindfold slid off of her face and she was greeted with a grinning kitty. “Good Morning Chat.”

Chat did a mock bow, looking at Ladybug through his eyelashes. “Good morning, My Lady. Alas we will have to depart.” Chat reached out for Ladybug’s hand to kiss, but she pulled it away just in time.

“Aww, poor baby.” Ladybug shook her head, laughing. “Do you want to meet up on Wednesday evening outside of Master Fu’s at 6ish in the evening?” Ladybug placed her hands on her hips, unhooking her yo-yo, ready to go home. Chat nodded. “Of course, My Lady. I wouldn’t miss it.” He bowed again, watching as she jumped out of the window. Within moments, he was right behind her.

000

_Just a few more blocks,_ Chat thought, scaling a few more roofs. In the distance he could see the apartment he and Marinette currently shared. Beside her apartment was his old apartment that was very close to being refinished.

Chat jumped the distance to the balcony of the apartment. Like usual, the window was unlocked, and he quickly slid in. The smell of home hit him and he smiled. It was nice to be out of that hotel room. It was a lovely night with Ladybug that he wouldn’t trade for the world, but hotels smell weird.

Chat glanced around to check if Marinette was anywhere around. She wasn’t. Chat quickly transformed back into his civilian form. “Marinette?” Adrien called out. Adrien quickly walked through the small apartment, but he found no one or anything that would give any clue of where she was. “Maybe she’s still out?” Plagg said, munching down on his cheese, not really caring about the situation.

At that moment, Adrien’s phone began to vibrate. He didn’t remember putting on vibrate, but he picked up nonetheless. “Hello?”

“Hello?” responded a confused voice.

Adrien didn’t recognize the voice on the other line. It didn’t seem like a telemarketer either. “Who is this?”

“This is Tom Dupain. Who is this?” Mr. Dupain asked.

Adrien froze. _Marinette’s parents? Why are they call me? How did they get my phone number Did Marinette give it to them? Why?_ “Uh, this is Adrien. Adrien Agreste. Marinette’s-“ Adrien got cut off as another voice joined Mr. Dupain’s on the other side of the line.

“Adrien? Adrien! Dear, how are you?” Marinette’s mother asked (at least Adrien assumed it was Marinette’s mother).

“I, um, I’m good. How are you??” Adrien was thoroughly confused. If they didn’t know he was the person who they were calling, who was this call intended for?

“Oh, I’m fine dear. Is Marinette there?” she asked.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh she just stepped out, I mean, she’s in the bathroom right now. That’s why I picked up.” Adrien gulped. _Wait…is this Marinette’s phone? How the hell did I get her phone? I’m pretty sure that this is my phone._

“Oh, that’s fine. Could you tell her when she gets out, to get some flour, sugar, and some eggs and butter before you guys come? We’re running out here at the bakery. If you guys could get those things before you two come today, that would be great,” Mrs. Cheng rambled.

Adrien paused. “Wait, the two of us?”

“Of course!” Mrs. Cheng exclaimed happily. “We always need more hands around here at the bakery. We would also love to see you again, Adrien, since you ad Marinette are now together and older. Tom and I knew it would only be a matter of time. That would explain why Marinette has been so busy recently.”

Adrien spluttered. “Oh, we’re not…We are just friends. I only live with her to….cause apartment…problems…” Adrien’s voice faded as Mrs. Cheng ignored him.

“We’ll have to know everything when you guys get here! Alright, we’ll see you soon, love. Goodbye!” she called cheerily, ending the phone conversation.

Adrien slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, shoulders slumping. He had at least two problems, Adrien realized, staring down at Marinette’s phone in his hands. He heard the apartment door open and closed. _Make that three_.

Plagg whizzed into his pocked as Adrien turned around and smiled at Marinette, trying not to twitch with nerves. His mind was spinning like a top trying to grasp that the phone in his hand was Marinette’s. This was the pone that Ladybug gave him back earlier. This could have been a phone that Ladybug had accidently found in the hotel room, and had assumed it was his. But that didn’t seem very possible. The phone in his hand seemed nothing like his superhero self would own. It was pink and had Marinette’s personal design written all over it. Ladybug would not assume it was his. The only other logical option was that this was Ladybug’s phone, which she accidently gave to him, because she was blindfolded. And if this was Marinette’s phone then…Adrien was trying very hard to not let this realization effect his facial expression or body language.

Marinette smiled at Adrien warmly, walking into their shared apartment. She breathed a sigh of relief when she took a quick glance over him to make sure he was alright. “Oh good, you made it home last night.” Marinette smiled at him again. “I was worried.” Marinette set down her purse on their brunch table and went in to give him a quick hug, but she paused. “Are you alright?” she asked, watching him twitch slightly.

Adrien nodded quickly. “Oh yeah. I was just worried too, about you. Where did you stay last night?” Adrien fought very hard to not let his voice jump octaves like a young, pubescent boy.

Marinette shrugged her shoulders. “I stayed at a hotel last night because it was way too crazy to try to get out of there after the battle.” Marinette gave Adrien a quick hug. Adrien’s arms automatically wrapped around her waist, but he still froze up. _Ladybug_?

Marinette pulled away from him a short distance. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, your parents just called, wanting to give you a grocery list of things to pick up before you and I got there,” Adrien explained. That wasn’t the real problem, but it worked enough to fool her.

Marinette picked up on the two key words in that sentence. “You and I??” Marinette raised her eyebrows.

Adrien blushed slightly. “Your parents have assumed that you and I are together because of how ‘busy’ you have been and how we are sharing an apartment.”

Marinette growled. “I’m sorry. My parents are ridiculous. You don’t actually have to come.”

Adrien’s blush deepened slightly. “Actually, can I come? If you don’t want me to, that’s fine too, but I like food, and I’d be happy to help out at the bakery?”

Marinette smiled. “Of course you can come if you want. I just don’t want to drag you into the crazy antics of my parents. They’re insane.” Marinette pointed to the bathroom. “Just let me change my clothes. I’ll be right out.”

Adrien fiddled with the phone in his hand, waiting for Marinette to leave. As soon as she left the room, Adrien slid over to her bag. His hand crept into her bag and grabbed his phone. It was indeed his phone. Adrien then slipped Marinette’s phone back in her purse. Adrien opened his phone and noticed that nothing had changed. He breathed a sigh of relief. _She doesn’t know._ Not that made it better, but Adrien was not quite ready for her to know. _I mean I could be totally wrong about this. I don’t want to just jump to a conclusion. I need to check everything out first_. Plagg snickered in Adrien’s pocket. He knew exactly what was going through that boy’s mind. It had only happened like a half a million times. It was just as good every time.

Marinette walked back into the room. “You ready?” she asked arranging her outfit.

Adrien smiled, acknowledging her new outfit. “Ready as ever My…Princ-I mean Marinette.” _Shit_.

000

Marinette raised a tentative hand to knock on her parents’ back door. Marinette loved to see her parents, but this was going to be so awkward. Her parents knew about her crush, and they would make this much more awkward then she wanted. Marinette sighed and shifted her weight to her other leg. _This is going to be a long day_.

Marinette’s mom popped open the door and smiled at the two young adults standing in the entry way. She smiled at them. “Marinette, Adrien, you came here just in time. Just jump in anywhere,” Sabine explained before running back to the counter. Marinette let herself and Adrien in. “it must be busy,” Marinette commented to Adrien, leading him towards the kitchen. _They are so busy they’re not badgering us??_ “We can bring the groceries to Papa and see how much help he needs.”

The bakery’s kitchen smelled delicious. There were breads, tarts, eclairs, macaroons, and croissants baking in the ovens, but also being made on the various floury counters. Tom Dupain was busy at work kneading a new roll of dough. He glanced up at the two as they walked in. He smiled at his daughter before turning to glare at Adrien. Marinette heard Adrien gulp behind her as he stepped behind her, trying to hide (being pretty tall, it didn’t really work). “Glad you two could make it,” Tom said, turning back to Marinette and smiling.

“No problem, Papa. Here are the groceries that you and Mom ordered.” Marinette sat the bags on the counter, letting her father rummage through them. He kissed her cheek in greeting. He nodded awkwardly at Adrien and shook the hand Adrien weakly offered.

“Thank you, my dear.” Tom grabbed the flour right off the bat and sprinkled it on the counter.

Marinette put her hands in her pocket and looked around the room. Adrien was nervously hovering over her shoulder, trying to appear comfortable. Marinette pointed to a lump of dough a little ways from her father. “Do you mind if we help out?” she asked.

Tom immediately nodded. “Of course. Help yourselves.”

Marinette pulled Adrien towards the counter, grabbing aprons for the two of them.

“I don’t know how to make croissants!” Adrien whispered urgently to Marinette as she slid the apron over his head that said: “Honey bun”.

Marinette secured her own apron on herself. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s literally just butter and flour. You’ll be fine.” Marinette bumped Adrien’s side with her elbow. “Plus I have seen you cook. I you can cook well, you can easily learn how to bake.”

Marinette pointed to the lump of dough and butter side by side on the counter. “Alright, after you have washed your hands you want to take the dough like this and start to roll it out.” Marinette slapped the dough on the counter and grabbed the rolling pin and started to roll out the dough. “Then you want to take a slab of butter and put it in the middle like so. Repeat like 17 times,” Marinette said simply.

Adrien looked at her skeptically. “Just like that?” He raised an eyebrow.

Marinette handed him the rolling pin. “Here; try it. It’s easier than you think.”

Adrien carefully took the rolling pin and went to roll out the utter and dough. Marinette stopped him suddenly. “Oh! Wait! We need to fold the dough up over the butter.”  She smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, forgot about that step.”

Adrien teasingly poked her in the side. “Geeze, Marinette. Don’t you know how to bake?” He laughed as Marinette spluttered and poked him back.

“I do so know how to bake, troublemaker.” Marinette stuck her tongue out at him. Adrien laughed.

“Hey, you two kids better not get drool all over those pastries as you two stare at each other,” Tom joked in the background, making Marinette and Adrien take a step away from each other.

Marinette pushed down a blush as she glared at her father. “We were not drooling.”

Tom chuckled and turned back to his work. “Whatever you say my dear. I see those puppy dog eyes.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and went back to helping Adrien. He was easily getting the hang of making croissants. He proudly placed one small batch of croissants on the baking tray. Marinette placed the tray in the oven. She dusted the flour off of her hands. “Ready for the next batch?” Marinette asked cheerfully, pulling out another ball of dough and spread more flour onto the counter. Adrien’s eyes widened in horror.

“There’s another batch!” He cried.

Marinette giggled. “Yes Adrien. We are a bakery.” Adrien let out a groan. Marinette shook her head and laughed. “Come on, help me with a few more batches. Just think about the people buying these wonderful goods that the beautiful model Adrien Agreste made???” Marinette waggled her eyebrows at him. Now it was Adrien’s turn to roll his eyes. Marinette bumped in the shoulder. “Don’t worry; I promise this won’t take long.” Adrien nodded begrudgingly. Their elbows nudged against each other as they worked side by side for the next few hours. They finished with the croissants, and then went on to work on the eclairs, which were practically just adding chocolate to a croissant like dough. Adrien barely noticed the time as he watched in fascination at how the dough magically became delicious pastries.

Halfway through the second to last batch Adrien was in charge of spreading the flour onto the counter. Instead, he accidently spilt it all over Marinette’s front. “Oh shit! I’m so sorry!” Adrien cried, dropping the rest of the flour onto the floor. He reached out towards Marinette’s belly and made an attempt at brushing away the loads of flour on Marinette’s blouse. His fingers smeared the flour everywhere. Marinette tried to push his fingers away as she laughed. “I got it, you clumsy oaf,” she joked, dipping her fingers into the flour on her front. She was able to scrape off a large amount of it into her hands.

“Oaf?” Adrien asked, striking a hand towards his heart. “How dare you My Lady!” Marinette had turned towards the trash can and was going to dump the excess flour in the trash when she paused at his words. Her unfortunate timing meant she stopped right at a small bench, sending her flying onto the floor, sending flour into the air in a large puff of dust. Adrien held his stomach as he laughed. “Who’s an oaf now?” he wheezed. Marinette glared at him. Still laughing, Adrien walked over to try and help her up, but he accidentally tripped over her feet and landing right on top of her. Both Marinette and Adrien collapsed in a fit of laughter.

Tom liked Adrien. He truly did. He didn’t like the idea of his baby growing up, but if it had to be with anyone, Adrien was adequate. That didn’t mean he couldn’t give them a hard time. But that also didn’t mean he had to like their constant flirting. He had stood to the side for the past few hours listening to them flirting back and forth. It was cute, but it was getting to be slightly annoying. It was like they didn’t even know they liked one another. It was nauseating. After hearing the two fall on top of each other, Tom rolled his eyes. Putting his hands on his hips, he turned around to face the two young adults. “Now what are you two doing?” Tom was surprised at the amount of flour that had landed around the kitchen. His shoulders sagged as he surveyed the wreckage. _This is going to take a long time to clean up_. Marinette and Adrien had the decency to stop laughing and look guiltily up at Mr. Dupain. He let out a barking laugh. “How did you even get that much flour everywhere?” He cried, exasperated. Tom started to laugh uncontrollably, and he covered his face with his hand laughing. In a matter of moments Sabine walked into the kitchen to see where all the laughing was coming from. She took one look at the floury kitchen with the two embarrassed young adults buried in it, and she broke down laughing right next to Tom.

Adrien tentatively got off of Marinette and stood up, offering his hand to help Marinette up. Marinette grasped his hand and allowed him to help her up. As her parents rolled on the floor laughing, Adrien and Marinette made an attempt at getting the flour off. It didn’t work well as the flour just simply found another place on their body to land.

Mr. Dupain had regained his composure and smiled at the kids. “Why don’t your two head to the bathroom to clean yourselves up with some water.” He jerked his thumb towards the stairs. “I can finish the rest of these batches myself. We are near closing anyway,” Tom explained as the two started to protest.

“Thank you, Papa.” Marinette grabbed Adrien’s floury forearm and led him out of the kitchen and into the upstairs bathroom.

Marinette flicked the light switch and walked into the bathroom with Adrien. Adrien stood there awkwardly staring at his clothes, unsure of what to do. Marinette chuckled to herself and grabbed a few wash rags and dumped them in the sink. She turned the faucet on and let rags soak up the warm water. “You can take of your apron and put it in the laundry hamper.” Marinette pointed to the basket next to the sink and pointed to Adrien’s apron. He immediately took it off and placed it carefully in the basket. Marinette smiled and handed him a wash cloth. “Is this your first time?” she joked.

Adrien blushed. “What? With flour?”

Marinette nodded her head, and laughed. “Yes, flour, you numb skull.”

Adrien pressed the wash cloth and started to scrub his clothing while Marinette chose to just wipe her clothes down with the wash cloth. By the time she had gotten it all off, Adrien was still struggling with is first spot. Marinette shook her head again. “You really are new to this.”

Adrien gave her a look. “Hey, I didn’t grow up in a bakery. How am I supposed to know how to get flour out?” Adrien defended, looking disgruntled.

“You’re just supposed to magically learn it once you became friends with me,” Marinette joked, reaching out to Adrien with a new wash cloth.

“Does that mean you were magically supposed to learn how to talk to people without going: Ahabbabbaba baba doop?” Adrien flailed his arms around as he imitated a younger Marinette.

Marinette blushed deeply. “I was 15! I could totally speak to other people!!!!! I just had some problems speaking to cute guys, ok?” Marinette defended.

Adrien raised an eyebrow cheekily. “You think I’m cute?” He leaned in close to Marinette and waggled his eyebrows at her. She continued to blush, but pushed him away by the nose.

“Do you want help or not?” Marinette demanded, hands on her hips.

Adrien bowed his head and looked at her through his lashes. “Of course, My Lady.”

Marinette froze. Not just anyone called her that, and it was the second time that hour that Adrien had used that pet name. Marinette started to realize how much this situation seemed like something that would happen between her and Chat Noir. Her memory flicked back to earlier that morning when she had discovered Chat’s phone. His screen saver had been a picture of her and Adrien. She had dismissed it at the time because it couldn’t possibly be Adrien who is Chat. Marinette glanced at Adrien’s face as she stepped closer with her wash cloth. _Could he be Chat?_

“So how do I do it?” Adrien asked.

Marinette cleared her head. “Um you want to take the wash cloth and just wipe it down your body. Don’t scrub. “Marinette applied the wash cloth to Adrien’s shoulder and swept it across it. “Just like this.” Adrien took the wash cloth from her hand, letting his hand linger a moment before he copied her movements. Doing so, he was clean in moments.

“Huh, would you look at that?” Adrien smiled down at himself, then up at Marinette. “I guess you know exactly what you’re talking about.”

Marinette gave Adrien a smirk, and she flicked her hair off of her shoulder. “I kno-”Marinette was interrupted as a cloud of flour flew through her nostrils. She coughed and looked in the mirror. Flour was still completely covering her hair and face. Marinette sighed. “I forgot about my hair.” Adrien walked up behind her and saw how much flour was covering his hair. He let out a laugh.

“Flour really does get everywhere, although I have to say it does add a nice little flourish to my movements.” Adrien jumped and a cloud of dust erupted from his hair.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Why is it always puns?” she asked. She tilted her head back and looked up at Adrien with a pout. “Why?”

Adrien leaned dangerously close to her face ad grinned. “It’s because I’m snazzy.”

Marinette let out a small laugh and let herself gaze at him. He had beautiful green eyes, a small, but pointed nose, and thin lips. She tried to conjure up an image of Chat to compare the two; it wasn’t enough. She needed to literally compare them side by side to know.

Adrien surprised Marinette as he suddenly pressed his lips against her nose. She jolted and moved away, blushing furiously. Adrien was rubbing the back of his neck. “You still had a bit of flour on your face…it’s gone now.”

From downstairs the two heard Mr. Dupain call up to them. “Would you two like to stay for dinner?”

“Would you like to stay forever?!” Mrs. Cheng added.

Marinette rested her head in her hand. “I swear my parents aren’t normally like this,” she murmured. She glanced up at Adrien, silently asking if he wanted to stay for food. He nodded eagerly. “Yeah we can stay for dinner.”

“Forever?” Sabine asked again.

“No, Mom, not forever,” Marinette growled. She knew she shouldn’t have taken Adrien here. He was going to get eaten alive. Marinette glanced over at him. _Although, it might be fun to watch_.

000

“Goodnight!” Marinette and Adrien called, walking into the evening air, closing the bakery door behind them. Marinette leaned up against Adrien and breathed a sigh of relief. “That was crazy, sorry about that.”

Adrien shook his head. “Don’t be. I had fun. Things got a little dry with the flour, and it got a little awkward when your parents asked how long we had been dating.” Adrien raked his fingers through his hair. “That was an awkward one to get out of. I’m still not sure if they entirely understand our situation.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I swear they do this to me every time I even mention someone. They are always trying to hook me up with someone. It gets real annoying real fast.  Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so there have been many boys who have come over to meet your parents.”

Marinette decided to look at the buildings they passed before speaking. “Not really…”

Adrien bumped Marinette’s side playfully “Come on, there’s got to be someone, otherwise your parents wouldn’t have hinted at it.” Marinette’s lips remained sealed as they continued to walk down the street. Adrien jumped in front of her and took her shoulders in his hands. “You’ve got to have had someone or a little crush; something.” Adrien searched her face for a hint, but she rolled her eyes.

Marinette was surprised at his enthusiasm, but there was nothing really to tell him. There was no one that she had been that close to over the past few years. Once Adrien moved away and Chat had disappeared, Marinette never really had the heart to find someone. It wasn’t worth it for her. Marinette stepped around Adrien and continued to walk down the street. “No, I don’t. I haven’t had one.”

Adrien paused in the street. “Wait what?” He ran to catch up with her. “You’ve never dated?”

“No, I’ve gone on dates and stuff, but it never really worked out,” Marinette explained.

“Why?” Adrien asked.

Marinette sighed. “Can we not talk about this right now?” Marinette wrapped her arms around herself and she watched her feet beat the pavement in an irregular pattern.

“Of course,” Adrien responded. There was silence before he continued. “I’m sorry for pushing it.”

Marinette stopped walking, and Adrien stopped right beside her. “No, you’re fine. It’s just my parents always push that topic when I visit, and I’m a little tired of the question. They are always supportive of my decisions, and they want to see me happy. They know I have a crush on you, so they were just trying to push us together, even if they did know that we are not together currently,” Marinette rambled, forgetting that Adrien was there was she got everything off of her chest. She glanced up and finally noticed who she was talking to. She turned bright red, like she was sunburned. “Oh no, I didn’t-“

“You had a crush on me?” was all that Adrien could say in that moment. He was staring into space trying to process the information that Marinette had presented him with.

“Uh, yeah,” Marinette squeaked. She watched his face very carefully, gauging his reaction. _15 year old me would be screaming at me if she could see this now. That was not supposed to come out._

Adrien shook his head and laughed. “I was so oblivious!” Adrien grasped Marinette’s hand and smiled down at her. “I am so sorry that I was so oblivious for not noticing.” He struck his forehead with the palm of his hand. Marinette looked at him like he was crazy. His reaction was not what she was expectation. Adrien noticed her confused stare. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“People do not react like that once they find out someone has a crush on them,” Marinette said, still wide-eyed. “Especially when that said person does not like the one who just admitted their crush.”

Marinette pointed to the alleyway beside them. “People usually run away as far as possible. They do not look oddly happy.” Marinette decided that she was using way too much brain power trying to figure Adrien out.

Adrien smiled kindly at her. “I have my reasons for being happy.”

Marinette regained her composure by giving him a glare. “What? Not going to tell me?” Adrien shook his head happily. Marinette rolled her eyes again. She tucked Adrien’s hand around her elbow and continued walking down the street. “Alright, I’ve spilt the beans on all my secrets, now you need to tell me one.”

Adrien let out a growl of disapproval, but Marinette gave him a sharp look. Adrien growled, but agreed. “Fine. I had a crush on Ladybug.” Marinette gave him a look. “I know everyone had a crush on her but I truly liked her. Maybe even loved her.”

“But you barely ever talked to her?” Marinette went through her memories of talking to Adrien as Ladybug, and she did not remember having a real conversation with him.

“No, I did,” Adrien defended. “I got to know her really well.”

Marinette decided to forgive the loophole. “What did you like most about her? Charm? Beauty? Being brave and all?” Marinette asked flatly. Most crushes of Ladybug would give her these answers, and it never ceased to annoy her. Didn’t they bother to look further than that?

Adrien shook his head. “No, none of those. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have those characteristics, but I much preferred her attitude: because she always tried to look for the good; her strength: because even when she was crazy tired, she still tried her best; and her cowardice…” Adrien paused. “No, that’s not quite the word, um…her soft side. The moments where she let that show I saw how much she feared for everyone’s life but hers. She cares about Paris, more than she lets on.” Marinette felt her face warm. “I don’t love her because she’s a superhero. When I think of someone I want to be with I don’t think about wishing for that fairy tale bliss. I’m looking for someone who I can depend on, and in turn they can depend on me. I want someone who’s real; someone I can miss when they are gone, but kiss when they are here. I want someone real.” Adrien turned towards Marinette and stared into her eyes. “That’s what I saw in Ladybug.” Marinette gulped. Adrien shook his head, breaking their eye contact. “I’m sorry; that probably made no sense.”

With a feather-like touch, Marinette touched Adrien’s chin, making him look at her again. “It’s not crazy to want someone who will be there for you. No one wants the person they grow attached to to just disappear.” Mariette cleared her throat, but didn’t break eye contact. “I know I want someone who will be there and support me. If it’s somebody I want to spend the rest of my life, then I’m not looking for some superhero with some superhuman gifts; I want them to be human.” Marinette’s finger slid gently up to Adrien’s cheek and he instinctively closed his eyes at the sensation. “I just want someone I can turn to.” Adrien’s eyes slotted open, and Marinette noticed how his gaze slipped to her lips “I want someone I can kiss,” Marinette murmured. Their two faces had gotten closer, but Marinette wanted them closer. She had been so close to this moment for so long. She had never been kissed in her life. Sure she’d kissed Chat before, and yeah, she’s given some cheek kisses, but no one else had initiated them.

Marinette was pulled away from her mind as she felt Adrien push closer to her. “Is this alright?” He asked quietly, leaning in a bit. Marinette nodded. Her lips tingled as she saw him close his eyes and tilt his face. Marinette felt her eyelids close the instant that Adrien’s lips touched hers.

His bottom lip slipped beneath her lips and he gently moved his lips against hers. Marinette didn’t quite know what to do, but she shut off her brain and leaned into the kiss, letting her lips move softly against his. He hummed in approval. Marinette’s hands found the base of Adrien’s chin, and she pushed it closer to her. Adrien’s arms wound around her waist and held her close to his chest. Marinette could feel his heart beat sporadically against her chest.

Adrien tilted his head to the other side, and Marinette let his lips slide so his top lip found its way between her lips. Adrien’s tongue slid out for a second and slid across her bottom lip, making her shudder. Adrien smiled into the kiss.

This kiss felt so new and precious. It was nothing like Marinette had experienced before. Here Adrien had her in his arms, cherishing her and holding her tight like she was wanted. She didn’t know what to do with this information. Adrien could be Chat, and she is Ladybug, but in that moment, Marinette didn’t care. This was the thing she had been looking for. It was him.

Marinette’s lungs were screaming, but Marinette held out for one tinier kiss placed on the corners of his mouth. She pulled away slowly and let her forehead rest against his. She smiled shyly at him. “I want something like this,” Marinette whispered. Adrien chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss against the corners of her mouth.

“I want something _just_ like this,” Adrien replied gazing into Marinette’s eyes before pecking her nose with a kiss. He smiled at her from his place on her nose. “You have some flour still on you,” Adrien murmured into her skin, making Marinette giggle.

“Thank you for saving me, kitty, from the flour monster.”

Adrien froze. “Kitty?” he repeated. Marinette turned pale. _You know when everything seems to be going well, and then you just let something slip. Yep; those are great moments_ , Marinette thought sarcastically to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! I am finally caught up with all that I have posted on fanfiction.net!!!!! Yeah!!! I have the next chapter already written, but I haven't started editing it, and its a long one. So please be patient as I try to fix it up, but it will be up in the next week-ish. I hope you liked this chapter, because I really had fun with it. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!
> 
> P.S. I also don't know how to write kiss scenes.


	17. Tomorrow

Adrien sighed contentedly, pulling the body next to him closer. As he slowly woke up, he buried his nose in Marinette’s hair, breathing in the scent of freshly-baked cookies. His arms were wrapped around her waist and he held her tight against his chest. The two had fallen asleep on the couch last night, barely even paying attention to the movie that they were watching. Without opening his eyes, Adrien slowly woke up and smiled. He pressed a soft kiss into her hair and heard Marinette hum happily in her sleep.

Adrien opened his eyes and beamed down at Marinette. It felt really weird to finally have her in his arms. Five years ago, he would have never thought that he would care about Marinette like this. He chuckled as he remembered a conversation he had had with Kagami way back in the day where he had said that Marinette was just a friend. _Look at us now_. Adrien was not quite sure when his feelings had changed for this beautiful person in his arms, and he wasn’t sure how much things could change, but he was content nonetheless. He lifted his head and a sharp crack rippled from his neck. Adrien lifted a hand to his neck and groaned softly. “I have to actually sleep in a bed tonight,” he muttered softly to himself. Marinette shifted in her sleep at the sound of his voice, and Adrien let his hand wrap itself around her waist again, and she quieted. “So needy,” Adrien chuckled.

Behind the couch on a table, Adrien heard his phone ding. Adrien moved carefully so as not to disrupt Marinette, and unlocked his phone. It was seven a.m. on a Wednesday. There were a few new articles speculating over Ladybug and Chat Noir and the new supervillain. None of the articles knew exactly what was going on. One article caught his eye. Alya had written an article for her company about this new supervillain. She didn’t know much, but she had some interesting information as she analyzed a picture of the Firefly supervillain. She was able to estimate his age to be about 23.  His accent is similar to that of northern France, and she also noticed how the man tended to touch his ear a lot. One of the pictures in the article zoomed in on his ear and she noticed that he wore a hearing aid. Alya hypothesized that that was where his superpowers were coming from. Adrien made a mental note to talk about this with Ladybug and Master Fu. Adrien paused. _Ladybug_. Adrien took a glance towards Marinette and back to his phone.

Adrien opened his email and quickly flicked through his emails. _I’m going to have to talk to the contractor about my apartment today before I meet with Ladybug at six_. Adrien turned off his phone and set it back on the table and settled back onto the couch, nuzzling into Marinette’s hair again.

“What time is it?” Marinette murmured. She was just barely awake.

“Too early for you,” Adrien laugh quietly.

Marinette’s eyes slowly opened and she looked up at him. Her eyes were misty with sleep and she smiled sleepily up at him. “Nah; I went to bed early. I could wake up now, especially with a view like this.”

Adrien blushed at her words. “We both went to bed early; fell asleep before we could finish our movie.” Adrien took a quick glance into her eyes. “But I’m not complaining about getting up, either.”

Marinette moved out of Adrien’s arms and sat up straight against the back of the couch. She tilted her head side to side and a large crack came from her neck. She sighed in relief. “I have got to stop falling asleep on the couch.” Marinette yawned and collapsed onto Adrien’s shoulder.

Adrien let her rest there, but his mind was whirling around. _When should I tell her I know? I don’t want to scare her, but the parallels are so obvious I can’t let this go on._ They lay there for several minutes enjoying the warmth as they woke up. “Do you want me to start up some coffee?” Adrien asked.

Marinette groaned and let her head roll into his neck, her lips pressed against his collar bone. Adrien’s breath hitched at the touch of her lips. “Do we have to? I don’t want to go to work,” Marinette complained. Her lips moved softly against his skin, and Adrien was trying to focus on their conversation instead of the sensation of her lips against his skin, but failed miserably. His skin smarted every time and everywhere she touched him. It was such an elated feeling that Adrien was not used to. He used to feel like this when he and Ladybug were younger, but it never felt like this.

Adrien laughed nervously. “Well it is Wednesday and both you and I have work. We can’t stay home forever…My Lady.” Adrien watched Marinette out of the corner of his eye, seeing if she reacted to his purposeful slip up. He saw her cheeks become pink as well as the tips of her ears. She groaned softly and pulled away from him, but didn’t meet his eyes.

“Yeah, I guess we’ll have to get moving then,” she grumbled softly.

Adrien glanced at her before slowly retracting his arms from her waist, and got up. “I guess we do.” He paused on his way to the kitchen. “Do you want to take a shower first, or do you want me to?”

Marinette flopped her head against the side of the couch and glanced up at Adrien. “I guess I’ll go first.” Marinette rolled off of the couch and made her way towards their bedroom. Adrien laughed to himself as he watched her stumble across the apartment. He went into the kitchen and pulled down the ground coffee and put it in a strainer. He poured several cups of water into a kettle and set the pot on the burner. The soothing sound of bubbling water soon filled the room, making Adrien close his eyes peacefully. He pulled out two travel mugs and added a few spoon full of hot chocolate mix to his own mug. From the kitchen Adrien could hear Marinette turn on the shower and her music. This morning’s playlist was Marinette’s favorite k-pop group BTS, staring with “Best of Me”.

It didn’t take too long before the coffee was done, and Adrien gently poured the coffee into the two mugs. He added some creamer and sugar into Marinette’s coffee and put the lid onto the cup. He glanced at the clock and saw that they had about a half hour before they had to leave. Adrien took a few sips of coffee before checking the clock again.

He wanted to go to the bedroom to grab some clothes so he could be ready to jump into the bathroom to take a shower, but Adrien was reminded of yesterday morning. It was now ten minutes till and Marinette was still in the shower. _Should I knock on the door? No, that would be weird._ Adrien tapped the pads of his fingers against the rim of his coffee mug. _But if I don’t knock we’ll definitely be late._ Adrien made the decision and quickly knocked on the bathroom door.

“Hey Marinette? Do you mind if I take a shower no? We kinda have to go soon?” Adrien heard the shower quickly shut off and he heard Marinette fall out of the shower. Marinette was finishing wrapping a towel around herself as she flung open the door.

“Oh my gosh! Sorry.” Marinette ran into Adrien but backed up immediately, repeating herself. “I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I was in there for so long!” A light blush peppered their cheeks and Adrien raised his eyesight to the top of Marinette’s wet head.

“It’s alright; we just have to get moving and I still need to take a shower.” Adrien raised a hand to the back of his neck and pulled on a few of the strands of his hair.

Marinette moved out of Adrien’s way and gestured to the restroom. “All yours…” Marinette made a tentative glance at Adrien the same time Adrien chose to do so, and their blushes deepened as they quickly looked away.

“Cool…Thanks.” Adrien gave her a quick smile before jumping into the bathroom. “I’ll be quick; you finish getting ready.” Adrien closed the door and quickly started shucking his clothes and jumped into the shower. Adrien pushed shampoo and conditioner through his hair, roughly throwing his hair around, trying to get it clean in time. As he struggled to get the conditioner out of his hair, he pondered his situation. _How should I tell her I’m Chat Noir? Does she already know? If she does….then what do I do? Do I profess my love to both sides of her? Would I scare her if I told her that I’ve liked her for longer than she thinks? Would I scare her if I told her I want to kiss her again, but as Ladybug? Would she be okay with that?_ Adrien paused. _I am overthinking this._ Adrien gently touched his lips as he stepped out of the shower and ruffled his hair dry with a towel. _Does she know? Does she even care about me as much as I do? Marinette may like Adrien, but Chat Noir? He may only be a good friend to her_. Adrien hauled on his work clothes and ran out of the bathroom. _What do I mean to her?_

“She likes you a lot, kid. Just stop your thinking and get moving. I’d like to get my breakfast sooner than later.” Adrien glanced at the grumpy cat lying on the bed with a large parcel of cheese. Adrien glared at his kawami.

“How do you always know what I’m thinking?” Adrien asked exasperatedly.

Plagg shrugged. “Magic that comes with the ring. Don’t worry I don’t like listening to your brain that often.” Adrien held out his pocket and Plagg zoomed in.

As Adrien walked into the kitchen he saw Marinette piling cookies into her bag. Adrien raised an eyebrow. When Marinette saw him she paused. “I just get a little hungry during the day?”

Adrien laughed. “I wasn’t judging you.” Adrien grabbed his cup of coffee and walked towards the door. “You about ready?”

Marinette quickly closed the bag with the tons of cookies in it and walked over to join him. She poked him in the arm. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Isn’t that a lot of cookies just for you?” Adrien asked again.

Marinette rolled her eyes and looked to the side. “They’re not all for me. I like to bring snacks to work sometimes.”

_Not that many cookies for the few people she works with_. Adrien shrugged his shoulders. He pointed to the door. “After you, Mademoiselle.”

The two file out of the door and made their way hastily onto the street. “We can make it in time,” Adrien breathed as he picked up the pace and started to jog. Marinette easily kept up with him and ran a little faster, taunting him. She smiled cheekily back at him. Adrien huffed and sped up. Marinette laughed at his efforts. “I bet I can run faster.” She stuck her tongue out at him as she continued to speed up. Adrien’s head lifted up and smiled at the challenge. As they reached the end of the race, Adrien got ahead of Marinette and speeded towards the end. Adrien got to the crossroads to their works first and jumped up and down in victory before collapsing onto his knees, breathing hard.

Marinette glanced down at Marinette’s heels. From his position, he looked up at her. “How the hell did you run in those heels?”

Marinette smiled and placed her hands on her hips. “I’m a girl. I just inherently know how to run in heels.”

Adrien stood up and shook his head. “You are insane.”

Marinette beamed at him. “That I am indeed.” Adrien laughed and ducked his head. The two stood there looking at each other. Adrien sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well I guess we better get to work.” Marinette nodded, but neither of them moved. Adrien made a quick second decision and pressed his lips against Marinette’s cheek and let the kiss linger on her cheek. “Have a good day.” Adrien turned away and left to arrive to work late. He only took one more glance behind him. He saw her bouncing down the street, smiling. Adrien smiled fondly at her before turning around and heading to his university. He didn’t know how well he would be able to focus on physics today.

000

“How does it look?”

Adrien stood in the middle of the room and spun around. “It looks exactly as it did before! Thank you.” Adrien extended his hand towards the contractor and they shook hands.

“It definitely took a little work, but it’s nothing I’m not used to.” The contractor put his hands in his pockets and rocked onto the heels of his boots. “Although, that thing that destroyed your apartment… that was weird. I’ve never seen anything like it. The damage reminds me of those old akuma battles that we used to have.” The contractor laughed and hit Adrien’s arm. “Remember those? I bet you did. You were the victim of a few of those villains.” He laughed again as he surveyed the apartment, smiling at his handy work.

Adrien laughed along and quietly rubbed the sore spot on his arm that the man had just hit. “Yeah, I do remember those.”

The contractor sighed. “Well, looks like my job here is done. Enjoy it!” He waved goodbye as he headed towards the door.

Adrien raised his hand in salutation. “Thanks again!” As soon as the door closed behind the contractor, Adrien let out a big breath that he had been holding. He smiled fondly at the layout of his apartment. “I’ve missed you.” Adrien giggled to himself as his hand caressed the counters of the kitchen. Plagg flew out of the pocket of Adrien’s shirt and shook his head at the boy.

“Humans are weird,” he stated.

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well at least I don’t have an addiction to stinky food.”

“But you do have a romantic relationship with your kitchen counters,” Plagg retorted.

Adrien stopped caressing and pulled out his pone, sending a small text to Marinette, letting her know what happened with the apartment. “Hey Plagg, I’m gonna start moving stuff into my apartment. Do you want to start moving your cheese supply?”

“But they’re heavy!” Plagg wined.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to carry them? I know the perfect place to put them,” Adrien looked up from his phone and leaned closer to Plagg. “In the trash.”

Plagg screeched in outrage. “How rude!” He whizzed off before Adrien could say anymore to go collect his cheese.

Adrien laughed to himself, and sidled into Marinette’s apartment. It felt weird to be moving out of her apartment since he had been living there for about a month and a half. So much had happened in that small amount of time. _Of course I’d be moving out the day after I kissed her_. Adrien shook his head at himself. He opened the closet where they had pushed most of his stuff into. As time went on in that month, a lot of things came out of those boxes and made themselves a part of Marinette’s apartment. Marinette’s apartment soon became their apartment. It was definitely strange to be moving out.

Adrien grabbed two closed boxes and transported them to his apartment. He grabbed all of the boxes that had not been opened, first. He then grabbed the boxes that were open, and filled them with his things from Marinette’s apartment. As Adrien was filling up one of the last boxes, Marinette came home and joined in. With both of them working, they were able to get everything back in Adrien’s apartment, even the furniture that remained in a matter of minutes. The two collapsed on Adrien’s couch and leaned on each other. Adrien stared out of his window that looked out at Paris. It was a beautiful view that showed the historical parts of the universities, but also the Sacre-Coeur in the distance. Marinette sighed and tentatively placed her head on Adrien’s chest.

“It feels weird that you’re moving out. I’m so used to having to share that small apartment with someone, it’s going to be weird without you. But a plus is that I’ll have so much room.” Marinette spread her arms to emphasize how much room she will have with Adrien gone. Adrien laughed. “I could walk around my apartment naked if I wanted to!” Marinette exclaimed.

With a completely straight face Adrien said: “You could have done that while I was there; I don’t judge.”

Marinette pushed Adrien, and sat up so that she wasn’t laying on him. Adrien laughed at her reaction and looked over at her warmly. Marinette glared at him with her arms crossed. “Not funny, Trouble.” She kicked his foot in retaliation.

Adrien feigned injury and rubbed his shin with a sour face. “Alright, Kicki; settle down.” Adrien kicked her gently back. Marinette stuck her tongue out at him. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes glinted as she stared at him. Adrien reached out a hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re very beautiful.”

Marinette ducked her head, but glanced up at him. “That’s so weird to hear you say.”

Adrien cocked his head. “Why?”

Marinette chewed her lip and looked to the side in thought. “I’ve always wanted to be close to you. I already told you how I used to have a crush on you. It never really faded. I was insane about it when I was younger. When I met you again in this apartment complex, I attempted to suppress it, or at least tone it down. I got the chance to become your friend, and that is so precious to me. But hearing you say I’m beautiful is even more precious to me…” Marinette faded off.

Adrien held Marinette’s hand and tilted her head up and made her eyes meet his. “Well get ready to hear that every day.” The two giggled at each other giddily. Adrien leaned forward and kissed her nose. “What do you want for dinner?”

“I have some noodles and a fresh baguette. Other than that, I don’t have much in my cupboards.” Marinette leaned against the arm of the couch and watched Adrien get up.

“Pasta it is,” Adrien declared. He glanced at his watch and saw it was about 17:00. _I’m gonna have to make this dinner quick_. Adrien took a glance at Marinette. “Oh shoot, I forgot. I have a meeting in like an hour….Is that alright?”

Marinette sat up and checked her own watch. “Crap, that reminds me; I have to be somewhere at six too. We’re gonna have to make this dinner quick.” Marinette followed Adrien out of the door. “Let me help so we can get it done quicker.” As they shut the door behind them, Marinette asked Adrien a quick question. “Hey I was wondering, didn’t you used to have a cat?”

Adrien coughed. “Uh yeah, he’s probably here somewhere. He doesn’t stay around me very much…he likes to explore….”

Marinette gave Adrien a weird look. “Ok, if you say so.”

000

“You go ahead and leave. I’ve got to grab a few things before I go.” Marinette waved to Adrien and closed the door. She glanced at her watch and growled. “I’m gonna be so late.”

“Chat won’t mind,” Tikki said. “I’m sure he’s running late too.”

Marinette scoffed. “Probably because he’s spending too much time grooming himself.” Marinette threw their dishes into the sink and washed and dried them quickly. Grabbing two hair ties, Marinette pulled her hair into two pigtails. “You ready Tikki?” Marinette turned her head and tucked back her hair, revealing her earrings. “Tikki, spots on!” The red sparkles enveloped Marinette and spread the spandex suit across her skin. As soon as the red dust settled, Ladybug launched herself off of her balcony and into the air. In one fluid movement, Ladybug unhooked her yoyo and tethered it to the nearest building. She let the string hold her body weight as she swung building to building. She glanced at the clock tower. _Yep I’m gonna be late._ In the air, Ladybug spotted Master Fu’s home. She landed right beside the building and she crouched down to hide from some of the civilians on the street. As she stood up and brushed herself off, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around casually and smiled at the black cat. He bowed politely.

"A little late, aren’t we My Lady?” Chat teased. He bowed down and placed a small kiss on the top of her wrist. Ladybug swiftly pulled her hand out of his grasp and smiled awkwardly.

“Should we go in, Playboy?” Ladybug led Chat around to the back of the building. She wrapped on the back door and waited in the early night gloom. The door opened promptly and a green ball of light invited them in.

“Master Fu will be with you in a few moments. He just has to finish up this appointment first,” Wayzz whispered. He led Ladybug and Chat Noir towards a dark room. With a flick of his arm, the lights flickered on. “Make yourselves comfortable. There is tea on the counter.” With that, Master Fu’s kawami flew out of the room, leaving the superheroes alone. Ladybug and Chat Noir sidled into the room, peering around.

The room was one of Master Fu’s work rooms. There were no chairs, in typical Chinese fashion, but instead there were pillows placed around a small table. On a cabinet against a wall was the box that contained the Miraculouses. Beside that was a small burner with a teapot boiling on it. Ladybug walked towards the teapot and the cups beside it. “Would you like some tea?”

Chat Noir nodded as he circled around the table a few times before deciding which pillow to sit down on. “Yeah, thanks.”

Ladybug laughed at his cat-like habit. “Is that the best seat?” Ladybug asked as she poured the hot water into three cups with green tea leaves placed in them.

Chat stuck his chin out at her. “I don’t do it on purpose; it happens naturally.”

Ladybug continued to chuckle as she brought the three cups to the table. She sat cross-legged next to him and handed him his cup. “You are such an ornery cat.” Ladybug bumped his shoulder teasingly, and drank from her cup. She gave Chat a teasing smile. He grinned back and placed a hand on her knee and leaned into her touch. He looked at her with fond eyes. Ladybug paused, watching Chat carefully. She retracted from his touch as she rubbed the back of her neck and took a glance around the room. She could feel his questioning eyes, but she couldn’t answer him. She felt weird playing around like this when she had Adrien. She had finally got to a good spot with him; she didn’t want to ruin it. Chat was her friend; a very good friend. She had her suspicions, but she could still be wrong.

Ladybug coughed. “So we’re here to give information to Master Fu, right? We could also see if he knows anything about this kind of miraculous we have encountered and if anything can defeat it.” Ladybug took a glance at Chat. Chat noir was just nodding.

“Yeah it would be good to get advice on where to go from here,” Chat added. Just as the conversation was slacking off, the door to the room, and in Master Fu walked. Ladybug and Chat Noir promptly stood up and bowed to him. “Good evening, Master Fu,” they said in unison. Master Fu smiled at them and waved at them to sit down.

“It is nice to see you again, Ladybug and Chat Noir. It has been a long time since I have seen you two in action.” Master Fu sat down his cane carefully before sitting down on the cushion across from the two superheroes. He saw the cup of tea on his placemat, and he added an extra smile as he drank the tea. “Ah, very good tea.” He smiled fondly at Ladybug. “You’re parents have taught you well.”

Ladybug smiled and gave Master Fu another small bow. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us with such short notice. As you have probably seen, we have been in quite a predicament.”

Master Fu nodded, setting down his tea. “With this new miraculous holder, you seem to have no power over him, am I correct?”

Chat Noir answered. “Yes; exactly. Is his kind of miraculous newer, or a part of another kind of miraculous group or something? Is that why we cannot cure any of his damages?”

Master Fu nodded again. “You would be correct.” He reached out and pulled down the box of Miraculouses and set id down on the table beside his cup of tea. His fingers slid over the smooth, wood finish. The pads of his fingers pressed against the buttons on the side, triggering the box to open up. Several layers of drawers opened up. Master Fu opened his arms and smiled at the two superheroes. “There are many Miraculouses in the world, and with that are groups of families.” Master Fu pointed to the top drawer where the spots for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses were encompassed by the fox, peacock, moth, turtle, and bee miraculous. “These are the Miraculouses that you are familiar with. They are a part of what we call a family. They all can work together, and can all counteract each other.” He then pointed to the next set of drawers. “This is another family that follows the Chinese zodiac signs. This family within and of itself can work together or counteract each other.” Master Fu grabbed the pig miraculous and held it against the bee miraculous in his other hand. “A miraculous from either of these families cannot interact with each other if they are put together. Their individual powers can hurt or help the other if they wish, but the purifying power holder from each family cannot clean up the mess from both sides.” Master Fu glanced up at the two superheroes who were watching him intently.

“So this firefly dude is not part of our family of miraculous, so we can’t clean up or destroy his powers…” Ladybug thought aloud.

Master Fu placed the two Miraculouses down and picked up two others. “That would be correct. You have no control over Luciole.”

“Yeah, he mentioned that to us one of the times we fought. He said we don’t have a chance because we can’t physically stop him,” Chat added.

Master Fu held up the miraculous in his hand. “That is where these two miraculous come in.” In one of his hands was a white choker, and in the other was a pair of glasses. He held up the choker first. “This is the swan miraculous. It has a power similar yours, Ladybug. The miraculous holder may purify actions from their family through the locket that is attached to the necklace.” Master Fu held up the glasses next. “These glasses are the wolf miraculous. He has the power of destruction, like you Chat Noir. However, it is his howl that destroys. These two miraculous are a part of the firefly family. They originated in America not too long ago. They are the newest form of miraculous to this world, and hopefully the last. It gets dangerous when there are too many miraculous in use in the world.” Master Fu placed the choker and glasses carefully on the table before closing the box of Miraculouses.

Ladybug cocked her head. She opened and closed her mouth as she thought of how best to ask her question. “So, do you want Chat and I to exchange our miraculous for those?”

Master Fu laughed and shook his head. “Goodness no. It’s not that I don’t trust you two, but I never want to separate you from your chosen kawamis. Plagg and Tikki fit you two exactly. It would be useless to have you bond with new kawamis just for one battle. We will need to find two people that you two trust that has yet to have interaction with Miraculouses. Can you think of anyone off the top of your heads?”

Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at each other. They both shrugged their shoulders. “A few people come to mind that we trust, but they have already had contact with Miraculouses,”

Chat tilted his head as he thought. “I do know a girl named Kagami who is a fierce and would be able to take the role, I think?” He turned to Ladybug. “Do you know her?”

Ladybug nodded slowly. “I know of her. She’s a world renowned fencer, right? I don’t know much about her, but I think we could probably trust her….” Ladybug fiddled with her thumbs inside her lap.

Chat noticed the movement and he quietly placed his hands on top of hers and gave her a soft look.

Ladybug nodded at the gesture. “I understand. I’m fine with Kagami; she will be very good at her job. She would work great with the wolf miraculous.” Ladybug gave a glance to Chat and whispered;

“Do you have anyone in mind, My Lady?” Chat asked.

Ladybug thought a little before answering. “I have an old friend from college in mind that could be trusted with the swan miraculous. Luka Couffaine is his name. He’s strong, and I would be able to trust him with Paris’ well being, I think.”

Chat smiled the name, but Ladybug noticed a small amount of tightness in the smile. Chat relaxed as Ladybug squeezed his hands that were still placed on top of hers. Master Fu smiled at the contact and he gave a sideways look at Wayzz. Wayzz cracked a grin and looked to be holding in his laughter. It was very clear that the two still did not have a clue about each other’s identities

Master Fu nodded and pulled out two tiny boxes to place the miraculous in. “I have heard of both of them, and agree with your decisions. I was already thinking about them as I know of their connection with you two, but I also know of their loyalty. Here…” Master Fu handed one Miraculous to each of them. “Go ahead and give it to them. We need to be ready to bring Paris back to normal as soon as possible.” Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at the boxes and nodded solemnly. They each took one and placed it in their pockets. Master Fu held out a hand. “I would advise you two to be careful and explain everything to these two new superheroes. We must be careful and not bring attention to ourselves. We don’t want this Firefly man to find out before we want him to. It also wouldn’t hurt to look into this character a little more.” Master Fu bowed his head.

“Do you think we could look at some family archives at the churches here to see if they have records? Do you think that would help?” Chat asked.

Master Fu thought for a second before answering. “I think that would be a good starting place. While you have the two miraculous holders training with me, you two could possibly try to start tracking down everything about this man. Alya Cesaire had some good pointers in her latest article. Maybe talk to her after you look at the records in the church.”

Ladybug nodded and looked like she was making an imaginary list in her mind. “Alright; got it.” She and Chat Noir got up and bowed to Master Fu. “Thank you for meeting with us. We will come back later tonight with the new recruits.”

Master Fu gave them a short bow back. As the two superheroes turned to leave, Master Fu asked a quick question. “By the way…Have you two revealed your identities to each other?” Ladybug and Chat Noir whirled back around and looked at Master Fu with large eyes. He chuckled. “I don’t mind if you do, but just make sure you do it without people watching.”  
Ladybug stuttered. “I thought we could never reveal our identities to anyone; it would put us in danger!”

Master Fu shrugged. “Luciole seems to already know your names. What use would it be to be in the final battle and have him reveal it when you can simply tell each other.” Master Fu looked at their shocked looks again. “Then again, it is your choice. You may decide when the time is right. Good luck, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I will see you soon.” Master Fu chuckled as the two walked stiff-legged out of the room. “I love those two but sometimes they are really dumb,” he commented to Wayzz.

Wayzz giggled. “Well they’re better than most Ladybug and Chat Noirs. At least they aren’t jumping on each other.”

Master Fu laughed. “Young people crack me up.”

Ladybug and Chat stood outside of Master Fu’s back door shoulder to shoulder. They were both trying to ignore the last conversation as they stared at the Miraculouses in their hands. Chat Noir peered into the box and looked at the glasses. “It’s a good thing Kagami wears contacts. It would look weird if she suddenly started to wear glasses for no reason.” Chat laughed. He took a glance at Ladybug and saw her face. He nudged her arm. “Hey, it’s going to be fine. It’s kind of exciting to get new people to fight by.”

Ladybug nodded numbly. “I know I’m being childish. It’ll be nice to have this done with, and things can turn back to normal, but it frustrates me that it’s out of our hands.” She sighed and peered at the choker. “But I trust Luka, and I know you trust Kagami, so everything will be fine.” Ladybug took a deep breath.

Chat laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not like we won’t be a part of the battle. We’re the old people here.” Chat offered Ladybug a smile, which she returned slowly. He patted her shoulders a few more times before letting go. “Alright, let’s get these things delivered.” Chat glanced at the clock tower. “Should we agree to meet at the Eiffel Tower in an hour and a half-ish?”

Ladybug nodded. “Sounds good. We can call each other if anything changes.” Ladybug unhooked her yoyo and launched it into the night air. “See you later, Kitty!” Ladybug gave him a small wink before sailing off. _Hmm, I would have expected Chat to mention something about identities. That’s weird._ Ladybug glanced down at the miraculous in her hands again. _I have to focus on the task at hand._

She circuited the city a few times before finding the building she was looking for. Night had started to creep in enough to cover Ladybug’s movements as she crept towards the apartment building. Like Spiderman, Ladybug made her way up the side of the contemporary building to the 5th floor. It had been a while since she had seen Luka. They had stayed in contact as good friends since college, but they hadn’t got in contact for a while. _He couldn’t have changed too much_. Ladybug peeked inside the window of his apartment. He luckily was sitting with his back to her, working on what looked like a new song. Ladybug pushed against the sill of the window and felt it push up. Sometimes her luck really came in handy. As quietly as she could, Ladybug pushed the window open and snaked her arm through the crack and placed the Miraculous box on the desk behind him. Just as quietly, Ladybug retracted her hand and closed the window. Now she just had to wait. It wasn’t too long, sitting on the sill of the window, before Luka stopped playing and sat down his pencil. Ladybug heard him spin around in his chair. It was silent for a few moments as Luka examine the box that had appeared on his desk. There was a blinding white light as he opened it with a gasp. “Hello Luka,” came a feminine voice. “I am Pearl.”

Luka let out a shriek and Ladybug heard him drop the box on the floor. “What the heck are you?” Ladybug peered in the window and glanced in to see Luka grabbing a drumstick frantically, and holding it in front of him as a weapon. “I really need to get more sleep,” he muttered to himself.

“You are not having a hallucination, Luka. I am a kawami who is bound to this necklace,” Pearl explained. Luka gave her a skeptical look. Pearl sighed and looked to the side as she thought of another tactic. “You know Ladybug and Chat Noir?” She asked. Luka nodded, but he grabbed another drumstick and a few frayed wires. He held them out in front of him in tight fists. Pearl sank down onto the desk and let her swan feathers fan out against the desk like a skirt. “I won’t do anything to hurt you; don’t worry. I am here to help…as well as Ladybug.” Pearl took a glance behind her and smiled at the peeping Ladybug. Ladybug took that as her cue to join the conversation.

With a smooth agility, Ladybug flipped into the room and landed softly beside the desk like a gymnast at the end of her performance. She gave a comforting smile to Luka. “Nice to see you again, Luka,” Ladybug said cheerily.

At the sight of the old superhero and friend, Luka tentatively placed his weapons on the ground and returned her smile cautiously. “It’s nice to see you again, Ladybug.” Luka got up slowly from the ground and looked from Ladybug, to the thing on his desk, and back again. “Can I ask why you are here?” He took another glance at the kawami. “Can I also ask what is that?” Luka walked a little farther away from the side of the desk with the kawami, and he stepped closer to Ladybug.

Ladybug held out her hand and offered for Pearl to jump on. Luka took a step away from her, but Ladybug held up her other hand to him. “Don’t worry, this kawami can’t hurt you. As she said, she is connected to that necklace. Anyone who wears that necklace will receive the power to purify. It’s kind of like my powers. I need a person who is willing to become a superhero. That’s why I’m here.”

Luka looked at Ladybug with big eyes. “Yeah, I’m not sure I’m cut out for that.” He pointed to the door behind him. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just be going now.”

Ladybug threw her yoyo at the door and secured it. “Come on, when we were younger, you told me you would have loved to become a superhero. You wanted to make people happy, that’s why you chose to go into music. It was a way to connect to the people.” Ladybug held out Pearl again. “I’m giving you another way to help.”

Luka paused. “Marinette, I’m not so sure.” He pushed a hand through his dyed hair. “I was much younger when I said those things. I don’t know if I would be a good superhero. There would be no use for me.”

Ladybug shook her head and gestured to the chair beside the desk. Luka sat and looked up at her patiently. Ladybug set Pearl down and leaned against the wall as she got ready to explain.

“Have you watched the news lately?” Luka nodded. ‘Good. Well Chat Noir and I have encountered this new supervillain, Luciole, who controls fireflies and memories. As you have probably seen on the news, we have no control over him; I cannot restore any damage done by him. That is where you come in.” Luka sat there patiently listening to Ladybug’s explanation, trying to take it all in. As she finished, they sat there silently, letting the information sink in. Luka slowly nodded his head. He offered a hand out to the swan kawami who was sitting elegantly, watching them converse. “So you are like her kawami, Tikki?” Luka asked softly.

Pearl nodded elegantly, arching her small, white neck. “Miss Marinette explains it perfectly. I will give you the power to help, but only if you care enough. I will not allow you to just use me for fun. I am not a toy.” Pearl gave Luka a regal and pointed look. “From what I have seen, I believe I will be able to trust you. But I can only do that if you promise to use your powers well.”

Luka nodded in understanding, and bowed his head. “I understand, and I am willing to take the chance and help you.”

Pearl gave him a small smile. “Then you need only put on that choker and say the words: Wings spread.”

Luka took the choker and carefully put it on. It was a simple black choker with a small locket attached to the middle of it. It fit well with his dark aesthetic. Luka smiled carefully. He glanced up at Pearl. ‘So all I need to say are those two words?” Pearl nodded, and Luka took a deep breath. “Alright, Wings spread!”

Pearl flew into the locket around Luka’s neck and pearly balls of light floated over him, transforming him. Ladybug held up a mirror as the transformation finished. Luka smiled at his reflection. He was dressed in a ballet uniform like super suit that had feathers peeking out at the shoulders and waist. His necklace was now white after the transformation, and his dark face was covered with a beak-like mask. “This is awesome!” He exclaimed, He looked eagerly over at Ladybug. ‘You never told me it was this amazing!” He looked down at himself and was nearly bouncing up and down. “I have to think of a name for myself and figure out my powers, and –“

Ladybug cut him off with a touch of the shoulder. “Calm down, tiger. I do not need you bouncing off the walls.” They shared a laugh.

“Yeah, sorry about the time I did that,” Luka said sheepishly.

Ladybug continued to chuckle as she opened the window to his studio. “You ready to take your first flying lesson?” she asked. She pointed to the wings bunched up against his back. Luka slung his thumbs through the fabric and spread his wings.

He raised an eyebrow to Ladybug. “So you’re sure that I won’t fall?”

Ladybug shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? I guess we’ll find out.” Ladybug promptly pushed Luka out the window.

Luka screamed as he fell through the air. “YOU’RE CRAZY! THESE WINGS ARE MADE OF FABRIC! I CAN’T FLY!!”

“Try and beat your wings!” Ladybug called back from his room.

Luka rolled his eyes but tested the theory. Immediately he started to float. He started to grin. “I’M DOING IT!”

Ladybug smiled as she watched him. She launched her yoyo at the nearest building and landed perfectly upon it. Luka landed a little more awkwardly. He breathed heavily as he pushed himself up. He couldn’t stop grinning. Ladybug beckoned to him. “Let me teach you how it’s done.” She jumped off the building and took off with Luka close behind. As they drew closer to the Eiffel tower, Luka was finally getting a hang of it. The two landed on the highest tier of the tower. Luka pointed out at the view in wonder.

“Wow, it looks so beautiful from up here.” Luka exclaimed.

Ladybug nodded. “That is a perk of being a superhero.” She leaned up against the metal spire of the tower and crossed her arms. She glanced over at him. “Do you have any thoughts for your alias?”

Luka turned to her with a smirk. “I was thinking Blanc Cygne or Cool Cygne, or even Dark Swan.”

Ladybug shook her head. “How about Ducky?”      

Luka rolled his eyes. “I’m not letting people call me ducky.”

Ladybug giggled. “Oh come on, it would be cute!”

Luka sighed. “Alright fine, but only if we attach a cool adjective to it like blanc, or fort (strong); something like that.”

Ladybug shook her head. “You’re ridiculous. How about Foncé Cygne; that would probably be best, but don’t worry, I’ll still call you ducky.”

Luka laughed. “I guess I can live.” He scooted closer to her. “So how have you been; I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Ladybug leaned a little away from him and coughed. “Oh not much. I got a job recently through my internship with Gabriel Agreste, which is nice.” Luka leaned a little closer and smiled kindly, but Ladybug stiffened.

“We should meet up again soon and talk more,” Luka continued.

From the corner of her eye, Ladybug spotted Chat Noir with a transformed Kagami making their way over. She had never been happier to see them. She patted Luka’s shoulder friendly. “It would be great to have a friendly brunch sometime. I would love for you to meet my boyfriend.” Luka took a step back.

“Oh, that sounds great. I’m sorry, I didn’t know so I..” Luka stuttered.

Ladybug patted his shoulder again. “I know you well enough that you didn’t mean any harm, but I thought you should know.” Ladybug got up and pointed to the figures jumping towards them. “By the way, I want you to meet your new partner.” Chat Noir and his companion landed elegantly on the bars of the tower. The girl beside Chat Noir looked up with a toothy smile. Her eyes were like a wolf’s, as was her outfit. Her glasses had now become a snout-like mask. The outfit fit perfectly with Kagami.

Kagami held out a hand to Luka. “My name is Loupa Grise.” Luka smiled back at her and took her offered hand.

“Foncé Cygne.” The two gave each other hard looks as they analyzed each other.

Chat Noir joined Ladybug near the spire and gave her a small wink. “Did you have to answer a bazillion questions too?” he asked softly.

Ladybug laughed quietly. “Did you? Luckily he understood it pretty fast.”

Chat sighed in exasperation. “Lucky ducky.”

Kagami and Luka were going back and forth a little bit to get to know each other. Kagami looked hesitant while Luka seemed very open with this situation. He was just having some problems communicating without his guitar. Kagami suddenly turned towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, putting her hands on her hips. “So when do we start training.”

Ladybug smiled, and pushed her back off of the spire. “As soon as possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! I'm back with an officially new chapter!!!!!!! I'm sorry it took me so long to edit, but life does get in the way. The last few chapters of this story are coming up, but I probably won't get them written or done until end of May, beginning of June. Thank you so much for reading my story. It means a lot to me. I never knew I would get so much feedback.  
> By the way, most of this chapter was written before I saw Luka in the show, so he might be a little OOC, but I hope you still like the chapter. Thank you for sticking with me. Please leave a comment or kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


	18. Totally Oblivious

Marinette flopped onto her bed hard and groaned. “I’m getting too old for this” she complained.

Tikki giggled from her perch on Marinette’s bedside table. “You’re only twenty-seven years old, Mari. I wouldn’t call you that old.”

“I feel like I’m ninety with how rambunctious Luka and Kagami are. They take so much energy out of me.” Marinette shoved her head into her pillow and shook her head back and forth. “I want to go into hibernation.” Beside her bed, Marinette’s phone buzzed. Tikki peered over at the screen and sighed.

“It’s your alarm,” she said quietly.

Marinette grumbled. “Can you press snooze?”

Tikki gave her a look. “You don’t have enough time, sweetie.”

Marinette huffed and hauled her butt off of her bed. “I blame the firefly butt of a man for this. He will pay for my lack of sleep.” She stumbled into the restroom and glared into her reflection. “I also blame Gabriel for this. It’s his fault we have another stupid villain.”

“He is also your future father-in-law,” Tikki added from the other room.

Marinette poked her head outside of the bathroom and gave Tikki a dark look. “Adrien and I are _dating_ , not engaged.”

Tikki just smiled. “Whatever you say, sweetie. If I’m not mistaken, you were planning to have three kids with Adrien and some hamsters as well.”

Marinette slammed the bathroom door. “I WAS FIFTEEN! I DIDN’T ACUTALLY THINK I WOULD END UP DATING HIM!”

“Talking about me?”

Marinette jumped at Adrien’s voice coming through her bathroom wall. She laid a hand against her chest and let out a breath. “Holy cannoli, Adrien; don’t do that.”

Adrien giggled from the other side. Marinette heard his toilet flush and the sink turn on as he washed his hands. “You tired?” Adrien asked.

Marinette hummed. “I barely got any sleep last night……..working on a project.” Marinette raised a hand to the back of her neck. She didn’t really like lying to Adrien, but it wasn’t completely a lie. “How about you? Are you tired? You sound it.”

“Exhausted. I had to babysit some kids last night, and I learned they have an inexhaustible resource of energy,” Adrien explained, sounding truly worn out. Marinette tossed her shirt off as she turned on her shower. “What’s the playlist for today?” Adrien asked.

Before getting into the shower, Marinette scrolled through her playlists and found one that had some pretty good songs on it. “How about a little Queen mixed with a little Kpop?” The slow beginning of Bohemian Rhapsody sang from the speakers from Marinette’s phone. The two of them hummed along, listening to the beginning ballad as they undressed and got into their respective showers. Adrien dropped into a low baritone voice (or at least attempted it), singing: “I’m just a poor boy. I need no sympathy ‘cause I’m easy come, easy go….little high….little low.”

“Anyway the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me! To me…..” Marinette sang back as she hopped up and down in the cold water, waiting for it to get warmer.

“Mama!” Adrien cried dramatically. In her mind’s eye, Marinette could see Adrien swaying back and forth in his shower with his eyes closed as he points his head into the shower head. Marinette was reminded of the time she sang with Adrien in her kitchen to “Helpless”. _Ah, the days when I was afraid he was going to kiss me._ Marinette laughed to herself. _Those were the days indeed._ Marinette closed her eyes at the sound of his voice and hummed along. Her mind’s eye transported her to a rooftop above a festival as Marinette listened closer to Adrien’s voice. On the Rooftop, dancing, was where Marinette remembers hearing Chat softly sing along with the music in her ear. _He sounded so much like Adrien. I wish it were him…._ Marinette shook her head to clear her thoughts. _But that would be wishful thinking._ Marinette pulled herself out of her thoughts as the song hit the chorus with a punctual shriek from Adrien in anticipation.

“I see a little silhouette of a man!”

“Scaramouch, Scaramouch will you do the fandango.”

“THUNDERBOLTS AND LIGHTNING! VERY, VERY FRIGHTNING ME!!!!!!” Marinette and Adrien screamed together, grinning as they heard their neighbors jolt awake around them.

“Galileo!” Adrien continued in falsetto.

“Galileo!” Marinette replied in a lower voice.

“Galileo, Figaro. If you let me go! I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me,” the two whispered.

“HE’S JUST A POOR BOY FROM A POOR FAMILY!” They repeated at a much higher volume. “Spare him his life from this monstrosity.” Marinette imitated playing the piano keys as the piano ran through its solo.

“Easy come, easy go. Will you let me?” Adrien whispered.

“Bismillah! No! We will not let you go!” Marinette responded immediately, but stopped to laugh halfway through the verse when she heard Adrien meow the line: “Let him go!!!”

“What? Do you not find my manly voice attractive, My Lady?” Adrien asked, offended.

Marinette shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks because she was laughing so hard. She was able to get out a few words like: “No…Ha,…me,…..Cat…Jesus.”

Adrien joined in with his own laughter. “You _need_ Jesus.” This only made Marinette laugh harder. Water poured into her open mouth and she started to cough as the water went the wrong way.

“You alright over there?” Adrien asked. _He was having way too much fun with this_.

Marinette took a deep breath, finally able to get air back into her lungs. “Sure. Let’s just say I have a new six pack from this lung workout.”

Adrien let out a chuckle. At the appropriate moment, Adrien jumped back into the song with Marinette following closely behind. “I don’t want _you_ to die!!!” He cried, changing the lyrics the slightest bit.

Marinette shook her head, smiling. “I’m too young for that, darling.”

Marinette could practically hear Adrien’s small smile as he said: “Good, because I want you by my side for life.” It became instantly quiet except for the lyrics of the song, and Marinette just stood there processing what he had just said. Adrien seemed to be processing what he had just said as well. “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to….Beginning of relationship, nothing big. I didn’t mean that we would have to, um,…yeah.”

Marinette cleared her throat. “No, I know what you meant……………..but I’m okay with the other meaning as well,” she added quietly. “Just at a later date…” A blush blossomed on her cheeks as she thought about what it would be like with Adrien. No, it wouldn’t be like the dream she had had when she was fifteen. Marinette imagined it would possibly be like how it was now… _Or as Chat Noir and Ladybug…and we would possibly sharing a shower,_ Marinette’s brain added. Marinette’s blush deepened at the thought. _Best not to think about that now._

“Anyway the wind blows…..” The first song finished with a final chord, and both Adrien and Marinette sighed in contentment. It was silent in the two bathrooms as Marinette’s phone decided on the next song. The next song was a Korean song, which Adrien recalled was named “Anpanman”. It was a weird name for a song, but it all made sense the more Adrien had listened to it over the past few months. It was always a good song to blast on the speakers to get his sleep addled brain working again.

“Waiting for you, Anpanman! Waiting for you An-pan-maaan” Marinette and Adrien sang together. “Naegen eopji altongina gappa. Naegen eopji super car like Batman. Deoge meotjin yeongungi nae nangman. But jul su inneun geon ojik Anpan.” (I don’t have biceps or pecs. I don’t have a super car like Batman. The ideal hero is my fantasy. But all I can give you is Anpan).

“Kkumkkwowanne hero like Superman. Himkkeot ttwieonne haneullopi bang bang. Mureuppak kkajineun geot ttawinduryeopji ana. Sunsuhan nae eoril jeogui mansang.” (I’ve dreamed of becoming a hero like Superman. I ran with all my strength, jumping high up in the sky. I’m not afraid of little things like bruising my knees. An innocent fantasy of my childhood). With razor and shampoo bottle in hand, Marinette rocked back and forth mouthing the words and singing into her make-shift microphone during the rap. “I’m not a superhero. Maneuen geoseul barajima I can be your hero. Ireon mari gadangkina. Haniriniji moreugesseo jeongmal. Geunde kkok haeyagesseoyo eomma. Maega animyeon nugahalkka. You can call me; say Anpan.” (I’m not a superhero. Don’t expect a lot. I can be your hero. I’m really not sure whether that even makes sense. But mom, I really need to do it. Who’s gonna do it if it isn’t me? You can call me; say Anpan).

As the song got to the chorus, Adrien performed perfectly, singing every verse. Thanks to Marinette he had gotten into Kpop and attempted to learn as much Korean as possible with his background in Chinese to help him. He was always kind to Marinette when she flubbed up on the pronunciation _constantly_. “Waiting for you Anpanman.” Marinette called.

“Lemme hear ya say, lemme hear ya say,” Adrien replied. “Turn it up, turn it up.”

“Jom deo himeul naebollae. Neouihimi dwaejullae” (I’ll muster up the strength a little more. I’ll be your strength). Marinette started dancing to the moves that she remembered from watching the band, BTS, over and over again. She heard Adrien snicker as she hit the wall with her elbow. “You know what? At least I’m trying,” she defended.

“Whatever you say... If you were here with me right now you’d see my dance moves. I’d even say they were better than yours.” Adrien stopped talking as his knee hit the wall as he danced.

Marinette let out a chuckle. “You were saying?”

Adrien coughed. “Okay, maybe we have to admit that we are both terrible dancers.”

“Maybe, but not when we were dancing on the rooftop” Marinette said before stopping to think. She audibly hit her hand against her mouth to stop the flow of words.

“What?” Adrien asked, startled.

Marinette shook her head violently. “Nothing, never mind.” Marinette took a deep breath as she returned to sing the chorus. _What if he’s not Chat? What if he is? I can’t seem to separate the two lives now_.

“Gyesok dollyeo dollyeo naui Anpan. Keep ballin’ ballin’ stil ballin’ still bangtan. Nuntteuni hero but still inmiro. Geu young man, young man, young man. Gyesok mollae mollae sangcheo manttang. But ballin’ ballin’ still bangtan. Apado hero duryeoumeun dwiro Anpanman, panman, panman” (Keep spinning and spinning my Anpan. Keep ballin’, ballin’, still bulletproof. As I open my eyes, I’m a hero, but still in a maze. That young man, young man, young man. Keep secretly, secretly getting covered in bruises. But ballin’, ballin’ still bulletproof. Even if I’m hurt, I’m a hero. Put the fear behind. Anpanman, panman, panman).

“It’s amazing how much of Paris is made up of superheroes,” Adrien commented. “I mean we have tons of actual superheroes like Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rough, Carapace, and Queen Bee, but we have so many civilians who are willing to do anything to help.”

“Remember Mr. Damocles?” Marinette prompted. “Those are the Anpanmans of the world; the ones who may not be the best at the whole superhero business, but still make the effort.”

“We need those kinds of people to help with those creepy fireflies,” Adrien commented.

“Yeah….” Marinette paused as she thought. “Maybe we need more than just superheroes.” Marinette made a mental note to look into talking to some civilians as she and Chat got the new superheroes ready for their debut.

“Gakkeumeun I modeun ge duryeopne Saranghaneun ge neom manhi saenggyeossgie. Nugun malhae neodo iji kkondae da dwaesseu. Jagyeok eopseo geunyang hadeon geona jal hae. Geuraedo nan yeongungigopa. Jul su ineun geon danpatppang. Gwa sugohaedan malppun idaman. Bureum baro nallagalge nal bulleojwo” (Sometimes I’m afraid of everything because I have so many things that I love. Someone tells me that I’ve become an old bastard. I don’t have the right. I should just keep on doing what I’m good at, but I still want to be a hero. All I can give you is some red bean bread and tell you that you did a good job. If you call me, I’ll fly right over. Call me). As the song continued, the two of them sang random phrases that they could pronounce. Marinette vaguely knew what the song meant, but that was through loose translation. Marinette could see herself showing this song to Chat. She chuckled as she thought about Chat’s reaction to the dance video. His ears would be twitching in time to the music and he would probably get up halfway through the song to try and dance along. Marinette laughed at the thought.

“What are you laughing at?” Adrien asked, startling Marinette from her reverie.

“Huh?!” A spurt of water sprayed into her mouth and she spluttered. “I was just…” Marinette spat out some more soapy water. “I was thinking about one of my friends dancing to this song. Nothing too funny, but this song reminds me of him.”

“Him?” Adrien asked, a little curious. “Would I know him? It’s not Luka is it?”

Marinette shook her head. “No, not Luka, although his rendition of this song would be equally as good and ridiculous. I was thinking of Chat Noir.” Before Adrien could intercept her flow of thoughts, Marinette quickly started to explain. “I used to know him really well when we were teens. He used to visit me on the balcony of my parent’s bakery and he would show me some cat memes or some good songs that he had found that last week.” Marinette smiled at the memories.

“I remember that,” Adrien replied wistfully. Marinette’s heart stopped as she churned his words over and over again in her brain. “Nino and I used to show each other songs and memes as well. It was often hard to get me off my phone as we messaged each other back and forth. How about you and Alya? Did you ever share pictures and stuff?”

Marinette barely heard the question as her brain was preoccupied with searching through every memory of Chat and Adrien to find the matching puzzle pieces. There were obvious similarities in the hair, the eyes, and the height. His smile and laugh were more similar than she remembered. Little conversation slip us became highlighted at Marinette’s recall. “Uh, yeah…..We shared a few pictures ever once in a while….” Marinette replied distantly. She turned off her water and reached out to grab her towel as her eyes glazed over. _Why did I not see it? They are obviously one in the same_!

The ending verses of Anpanman continued to play in the background, but Marinette could hardly hear the words. She could barely see herself in the mirror. As she fastened her bra, Adrien’s voice filtered into her brain, bringing her back to the present. “Mari? Marinette? Hey….Are you ok? Mari?” Adrien’s voice was slowly growing louder and more worried. Marinette had the urge to blurt out a question to him. She wanted to know for sure, sure. She didn’t just want conformation from her mind, but a definitive answer from Adrien himself. She refrained. She swallowed the urge and fought to speak normally. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she squeaked. “I don’t know what came over me. What’s up?” It was a struggle for Marinette to act normal when nothing was normal. _We are both superheroes for Pete’s sake!!_

Marinette could tell Adrien was giving her a weird look through the shower wall as he replied: “If you’re sure…..”Adrien paused, and Marinette could feel his eyes trying to look at her through the wall separating them. “Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” Adrien asked, trying to change the topic of conversation for Marinette’s sake.

Marinette pulled her blouse over her head, messing with the bow around her neck. “Yeah, that sounds good. We need a break from cooking anyway.”

The water from Adrien’s shower turned off, and Marinette could hear the shower curtain being pulled back. As the next song was chosen, Marinette plugged in her hairdryer. She needed something to block out the outside world for just a moment to help her think. The constant whirring of the hot air against her head helped pause the world. _I should have known. Everything was there. Why didn’t I put the pieces together before?_ One idea popped into her mind. _What if he already knows?_ Marinette’s heart fluttered. _I have to tell him today that I know_. As Marinette turned off the hairdryer, the words of “Rewrite the Stars” filtered through the sudden silence.

“It’s up to you, and it’s up to me. No one can say what we get to be. So why don’t we rewrite the stars? Maybe the world could be ours tonight.” This song was a new addition to Marinette’s music library after she had decided to watch _The Greatest Showman_ with Adrien one night. It was an instant hit for the two of them. Hearing the words of this song now made Marinette think of the time when she overheard Master Fu talking to Wayzz. He had said that Ladybug and Chat Noir had been made for each other and would always find a way to be together, even if it meant tearing the world apart. These lyrics reflected that mentality. From the other side of the wall Marinette could hear Adrien sing along to the last lines of the verse.

“You think it’s easy? You think I don’t want to run to you? But there are mountains, and there are doors that we can’t walk through. I know you’re wondering why because we’re able to be just you and me within these walls…But when we go outside you’re going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all,” Marinette sang softly. There are things that keep her from revealing identities: safety of each other and their families came before anything and that fact still stands. They have a new villain out there who knows who they are and they have no clue what he wants.

“No one can rewrite the stars. How can you say you’ll be mine? Everything keeps us apart, and I’m not the one you were meant to find!” Marinette added light makeup to her face as she sang. The problem, she was finding, with singing in separate bathrooms was that she could not see Adrien’s face. They spent a lot of time together recently as they started their new relationship, but with all that’s been going on, it was hard to imagine if they were doing the right thing. _It would be wonderful to see his face right now…_ “It’s not up to you; it’s not up to me. When everyone tells us what we can be. How can we rewrite the stars? Say that the world can be ours tonight?” Marinette finished.

“Well we can start by getting some food and getting our butts to work,” Adrien joked, thankfully pulling Marinette out of the spiral of feelings. “We can’t really do much for the world if neither of us have food in our stomachs.”

Marinette laughed as she turned off her music. “So I guess you’re ready to go, Troublemaker?”

Adrien hummed in response. “I want eat.”

Marinette laughed again and they both made their way out of their bathrooms, grabbing what they needed for the day, before meeting each other in the hallway. “How about we stop by my parent’s bakery before we go to work?”

Marinette looked over at Adrien, taking time to analyze his features. _The nose. The eyebrows……The eyes…the smile._ Marinette nodded numbly as she reached out and tentatively rubbed the pad of her thumb against Adrien’s cheek. Adrien’s content smile switched to a confused one as he watched Marinette’s movements. Marinette barely noticed as she lifted both of her hands to trace the dips and creases of Adrien’s face. One hand curved over his nose and hesitated at the tip while the other hand reached beneath his chin. Adrien watched with curious eyes as Marinette tapped his nose and let both of her hands fall to her sides.

“Food?” Marinette asked before turning and walking down the stairs. Adrien stared after her with his mouth hanging open an inch or two.

“What?” Adrien asked. He blinked his eyes hard as he looked at the back of Marinette’s head.

Marinette turned her head back and smiled at him. “You wanted eat? Food, let’s go.” Marinette gestured for Adrien to join her.

Adrien shook his head but followed her down the stairs, jogging to catch up. “Yeah food, but what was with the face touching?”

Marinette paused and held out a hand, which Adrien took with ease. Marinette’s face was tinted with pink, especially around the nose and ears. She looked into Adrien’s eyes and smiled. She squeezed his hand as she led him down the stairs again. “I just needed to make sure of something. Don’t worry about it, kitty.” Marinette bit the side of her lip to keep her smile from getting bigger. _I have tell him today._

Adrien continued to stare at the back of Marinette’s head as she led him out of their apartment building. A small smile creeped onto his face as she squeezed his hand again, but didn’t turn around. Marinette had not worn pigtails in a while, but for some reason today was the day that Marinette decided to sport the old hairstyle. Adrien smiled to himself as he realized the possibility of her actions. _I think she knows_.

000

Marinette groaned as she laid down her pencil to rub at her eyes. Getting no sleep was helping nobody. Marinette’s desk partner had to hear Marinette’s groans and whines at least every minute. _I want to go home._  Marinette glanced at the time on the corner of her computer. _Only one more hour to go. Hallelujah._ Marinette picked up her pencil again in an attempt to get some of her design done today. Even though the company was in the middle of summer and between fashion seasons that did not stop Gabriel from pushing his designers to their full capacity to get ready for the fall and winter lines. Marinette sighed as she crumpled up yet another page. She glanced at her phone and checked her notifications. She had contacted Alya earlier that day to ask for help. Alya knew her identity, and Marinette had to admit that it was really nice to have someone to confide in. She had already explained her need for more help with Luciole and Alya had easily responded with a list of contacts to all of the people that were in the area who could easily help. The list included people like Nino, Juleka, Rose, Alix, Mr. Damocles, Madame Bustier, and Natalie Chamack. Marinette had added Chloe to the list as an afterthought as she thought about the night at the hotel. Any of these people could help, and that was wonderful. They all probably weren’t needed, but it was good to have backups.

Marinette stared at the last text about the tentative plan to lure Luciole to the Eiffel tower. Marinette sighed and decided to change the direction of the conversation. < I think I know who Chat is> Marinette pressed send and waited. She tapped her pencil against the paper on her desk and added a few swirls to the skirt before her phone dinged softly. In bright blue ink, Alya’s reply lit up the screen.

<what r u going to do about it?>

 Marinette typed a quick reply. <you’re not going to ask who????>

Alya’s reply came back almost instantly. <It’s your business. I repeat, what r u going to do about it>

Marinette hesitated as she thought. As her screen darkened, Marinette glanced over at Tikki. Tikki was chewing on one of her cookies and smiled at Marinette. Tikki had no idea what the Marinette and Alya were texting each other about, but she had a guess that it had to do with Adrien being Chat. She was proud of her chosen for finally realizing who her partner was. Tikki didn’t even know in the beginning, and only knew when Mr. Damocles had trapped both heroes in that box of cream. There was a lot of magic hiding the truth of identities because it was very important to keep everyone safe, but as the years wore on with each new Ladybug and Chat Noir, the magic always wore off. Tikki smiled once more when Marinette buried her face in her hands as a blush erupted in her cheeks. <I want to tell him….today> Marinette texted back. <I need to tell him before this battle, but…>

<you’re scared> Alya knew Marinette as well as Marinette knew herself. <but you don’t have anything to lose. Go get him>

Marinette laughed weakly. <I don’t know what to say, though>

<using words will help ;-)>

Marinette rolled her eyes. <do I just start talking out of the blue, or should I build up to it?> Before Marinette could see Alya’s reply there was a knock on the side of her desk and Marinette jumped up at the unexpected visitor. She shut off her phone quickly and turned to look at her visitor.

Natalie gave Marinette a small smile. “How are your designs going?” she asked politely. Marinette took a nervous glance at her desk and pushed her phone off of her designs and smiled anxiously at Natalie.

“I’m getting ideas, but none of them are really good enough,” Marinette admitted as she pushed the designs around her desk to show Natalie. Natalie stayed silent as she peered at the designs, nodding at the simple designs.

“I can see you are looking for different view of an old look, but you can’t quite grasp the change.” Natalie turned to her tablet and looked like she was searching for something. Within a few seconds she had turned the tablet to face Marinette.” Maybe checking some books out about China or Asian influence in our culture would be a good starting point,” Natalie suggested. Marinette nodded as she scrolled through the search results. Her brain started to churn as she looked at some of the book titles. The thoughts of Chat and Adrien got thrown in and suddenly a design came to mind.

“That’s exactly what I need… Thank you Natalie!” Marinette immediately fell back into her chair and pulled out a fresh piece of paper to illustrate what had popped into her mind. Only after filling up several sheets with designs did Marinette notice that Natalie was still there. Marinette rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh! I’m sorry; did you need me for something?” Marinette gave her an apologetic look that Natalie accepted.

“Gabriel would like to talk to you before you leave today,” Natalie mentioned calmly. Her mouth was pulled to one side in a look that Marinette knew from experience was a smile.

Marinette’s eyes widened. Meetings with Gabriel were not always bad, but Marinette couldn’t help but worry. Natalie gave her a soft look and walked away. Marinette glanced at the clock and realized that she might as well go now. Marinette gathered her designs and stuffed them in her purse. She barely looked at her phone to see Alya’s reply; her mind could barely process the two situations at once. <knowing you, just start with it> Marinette pursed her lips. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she replied with a snarky reply. <I’m not that bad. I can build up the suspense if I want. I’m not completely useless at conversation with him> Marinette threw her phone into her purse next to Tikki. Not bothering to look at Alya’s reply, Marinette turned off the lamp at her desk and made her way out of the designer offices.

As calmly as she could, Marinette walked to Mr. Agreste’s office and knocked. She pushed thoughts of Adrien out of her mind as she waited for a response from her boss. “Come in,” Mr. Agreste drawled from inside. Marinette turned the silver handled door knob and pushed.

Gabriel Agreste’s office was much smaller than the one in his home, but was still grand enough to show his status. The walls were covered in white and black wallpaper with wood painted black framing each panel of the wall. There were a few chairs in the room and one chair in white. There was a small stain on the corner of the couch from an unfortunate worker who probably lost his job soon after. There was one large desk where Mr. Agreste sat pouring over his designs. The room echoed the great past of the company. The company was no longer as big as it was when Marinette was a teenager, but that was understandable given certain circumstances.

Marinette sidled up to the front of Gabriel’s’ desk as he focused on some of his designs. Marinette coughed into her hand to gain his attention. “You said you wanted to speak to me, Mr. Agreste?”

Gabriel Agreste glanced up from his drawings and let a small smile pull at his lips. “Yes, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I need to speak to you.” Mr. Agreste met Marinette’s eyes steadily.” I want you to have the company,” he said, getting straight to the point.

Marinette opened her mouth only to quickly close it. _What. There must be some mistake._ “I’m sorry?” was all she could manage to say.

Mr. Agreste gestured to the walls around him. “I want to give you the company. I need to retire, given that no one respects my name anymore…” He paused as he looked at the boxes beside his desk that Marinette hadn’t noticed until just then. “It’s hard to recover from being known as Paris’ infamous supervillain. It’s hard to return to a normal life.”

“Sir, I still don’t understand. You’re company is still doing well, and most people don’t care anymore-“Marinette expressed, but Mr. Agreste held out a hand.

“The company is only doing well because of yours and your coworkers’ designs. I am holding all of you back, so it is time for me to leave. I plan to be out of this office in a week.” He gave her a sad smile. “It will all be yours.”

Marinette continued to stand there speechless. She collected her thoughts very carefully. So many questions were running around her head. She didn’t know which one to express first. “Why now?” She was finally able to ask.

Gabriel sighed and pointed to the seat beside his desk for Marinette to take as he fell into his own. “My old memories are coming back. “He glanced up at Marinette, staring solemnly into her irises. “I have expressed to you before that I felt like a chunk of my life felt missing, and you attested to it. You even admitted that you felt it too. For several years after I was released from jail, no one remembered what I had done. No one remembered any of the superheroes who once flew through the streets of Paris…or the villains.”

Mr. Agreste paused to stare down at his hands. “Something happened, but I just can’t remember it.” He let his head fall into his hands. Marinette’s widened at the sudden change in character. The man she had looked up to through her whole childhood and young adulthood was collapsing and she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

She floundered to find something to say, her eyes noticed him fiddling with something in his hands. “What’s that?” she asked softly.

Mr. Agreste’s head jolted up as he acted like he had forgotten she was there. His eyes looked tired as he held out what was in his hands. It was an old photograph of him with his wife and a toddler Adrien nestled in their arms. “This picture confuses me because I can barely remember that moment…I can barely remember my wife’s smile. I wanted her back when the fear took over. I was willing to go to any lengths to get her back when I became Hawkmoth, even when I knew she was dead. I refused to believe it. I even went as far to tell my own son that she had just left for a little while. I couldn’t live with the truth. There is a part of my life that is empty and forgotten. I know where it should be in my mind, but it feels like something’s blocking it.” Gabriel wouldn’t meet Marinette’s eyes anymore. His eyes glazed over and seemed to glow as he stared down at his lap.

Marinette cocked her head to the side and reached out a hand to Gabriel Agreste’s shoulder. When he didn’t respond to her touch, Marinette tried shaking him gently, but he didn’t move. It was then that Marinette felt a tickle against her wrist. She turned her hand to see a firefly crawling up her hand. The firefly’s light flickered before it flew off of her hand. Marinette stood up instantly and tried to push her boss out of his chair. More fireflies were starting to crawl all over the chair and the desk. “Mr. Agreste, you have to move,” Marinette grunted, pushing against his back. When he finally moved, he just flopped onto the ground, motionless. Marinette raced over to his side and checked his pulse, making sure he was still alive before she pulled out her phone. “Natalie!” Marinette called weakly as she tried to keep Mr. Agreste off the ground. She dialed a number on her phone and pressed the phone against her ear as she waited for the person to pick up. “Natalie,” Marinette called again, trying to get the secretary’s attention. She needed to get Mr. Agreste out of his office as quickly as possible. Marinette attempted to pull Gabriel towards the door, but could only get him halfway to the door before the person on the phone picked up.

“Hello?” said the person on the other line.

Marinette barely registered the voice as she focused on the fireflies and the door, trying to come up with a plan. “Adrien, I need you to come to your dad’s fashion agency as soon as possible. We have to get everyone out,” she whispered.

What’s wrong?” Adrien demanded. “Is there a shooter? A fire? Have you called the police?”

Marinette watched in calm horror as the fireflies started to gnaw at the wood of the desk. “The police can’t help this situation. There are only two people, or maybe four that can help right now.” Marinette glanced down at Mr. Agreste again, then to the door. “Chat, I need you.”

There was a pause on the other side of the line before Adrien replied quietly. “Then I will be there, My Lady.”

Marinette pressed end call and shoved her phone into her purse, her heart beating quickly. _I just did that. I just told him, and he knew…He knew!!!!_  Marinette had to stop herself from getting side tracked as Tikki flew out and met Marinette’s steady gaze. Tikki nodded in approval and gestured to Marinette’s dormant earrings. “Tikki, spots on,” Marinette whispered. The kawami flew into her earrings, letting spandex-like material spread over her body. The polka dots curved against the shape of her body and face as the transformation was completed. While keeping an eye on the fireflies, Ladybug picked up Mr. Agreste with the help of her magic suit and quickly walked to the door of his office. “Natalie!!” Ladybug called again. She paused as Mr. Agreste murmured something under his breath. “Hmm?” she leaned closer to his mouth.

“I helped him get the miraculous…” Gabriel breathed.

“What?!” Ladybug’s eyebrows shot up. ”Who?”

“Luciole…He was Emilie’s first son…”Gabriel whispered before his eyes glazed over again.

Ladybug shoved the door open. Natalie had her hand out, getting ready to open the door when Ladybug opened it. Natalie looked at the limp body in Ladybug’s arms and she hurried over, worry etched in the crinkles around her eyes. Ladybug passed Gabriel to Natalie while calling a few other workers over to help. “I need you guys to get him and yourselves out now, as well as everyone else.”

“Why?” Someone in the growing crowd of workers asked.

“There’s going to be an attack,” Ladybug replied curtly as she went into the office again, locking the door behind her.

The number of fireflies in the room was growing exponentially. _He’s almost here._  Ladybug grabbed her yoyo and sent a quick alert to Kagami and Luka to be there as fast as possible. Even if they weren’t in uniform, their kawamis would relay the message.

Ladybug walked into the middle of the room and stood with her hands on her hips. “I know you’re here, Luciole. Come out…Come out, come out wherever you are.” Ladybug felt a breeze beside her as a window opened, but she wasn’t worried about that movement. Chat bounced in quietly and landed beside her, closing the window with careful movements.

“Come on, flashy butt, we know you’re here. Might as well join us,” Chat Noir taunted. Chat’s hand brushed against Ladybug’s arm in greeting as they settled into a battle stance. Ladybug’s arm buzzed with the touch. She glanced at Chat from the corner of her eye and saw him doing the same. They shared a look that said _later,_ before they returned their attention to their side of the room. The buzzing and the lights of the fireflies seemed to intensify as they felt Luciole grow closer and closer. With a pop of silence, Luciole appeared in front of them, smiling like a wolf with its prey in his teeth.

“Hello Marinette, Adrien. How are you doing on this fine evening?” Luciole winked at the two of them.

Chat’s hand found Ladybug’s and he squeezed it softly. “I could ask the same of you,” Ladybug responded coolly. Ladybug interlocked her and Chat’s hands and gave him a quick glance. His facial expression was teasing, as always, but she could feel the fear laced into his movements as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

“We’re doing pretty well,” Chat answered for the two of them. ”Business as usual; dealing with a pain in the butt like always. This one just burns a little more than others,” Chat quipped.

Luciole laughed. “Then I am doing well, as well. I say, I gave your father a pretty good scare back there.” Luciole nodded to the office. “You may have noticed by now that I love playing with the mind. Memories are the easiest to play with, but, for instance, I can change what you see in the present moment.” With a snap of his fingers the three of them were standing in the catacombs of Paris.

Ladybug was amazed at how real everything looked. “How do you do it?” she asked, innocently.

Luciole shrugged. “When I see a certain place I can catalogue it in my mind or in my fireflies’ mind. I can then call up that image later and convince your brain that you are there.”

Chat ran his hand along the banister close to the bones and felt dust gather on his fingers. “How did you come upon these powers…if I may ask?” Chat raised an eyebrow.

“It was a gift,” was all the reply they got. Ladybug remembered what Gabriel Agreste had whispered to her earlier. _Somehow Gabriel gave a miraculous that he had found to his son-in-law._

“How old are you?” Ladybug asked out of the blue.

Luciole seemed shocked at the question and the catacombs flickered around them. Within seconds, it returned to normal. “I was born before the two of you. I don’t like to say my actual age, but I can assure you that I am older.”

“Then you must know more about the world then,” Ladybug replied. “You must be a wise one to figure out how to trick all of Paris into a false sense of security only to take it away slowly. You must be so wise to figure out how to gain control of a man’s mind in grief and exploit him for your own gain to hurt everyone around him. Yeah, you’re so wise,” Ladybug spat.

Chat jittered beside her, but less with nerves and more with untamed energy.

Luciole gazed at the superheroes calmly. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

With a sharp screech the mirage of the catacombs shattered. What looked like an enormous animal was wrapped around Luciole’s neck, grappling at his hearing aids. Chat and Ladybug instantly recognized the animal as Kagami. Gabriel’s office returned, and Chat and Ladybug leaned on the old sofa in front of them for stability as they returned to reality with a jolt. Around the office they found that fireflies had infested the place. Fireflies were crawling across the walls, chair, carpet, and desk. Behind the desk Luka stood furiously trying to throw the fireflies off and towards the window.

“Get OFF!” Luciole screeched, scratching blindly at Kagami’s coat. Just as Kagami grabbed one of the hearing aids, she was thrown off of him, onto Mr. Agreste’s desk. With fiery eyes, Luciole glanced between the superheroes. “What are those?” he asked his voice low and dangerous as he pointed at the newcomers. His hands reached to his loose hearing aid, and he twisted it back into his ear.

Luka bounced onto the desk and bowed at the supervillain. “Cygnus.” He gave a mock bow as he placed a hand on Kagami’s shoulder.

“Loupa Grise” Kagami replied, playing with the tips of her claws.

Luciole glared. “You have no right to them,” he growled.

“To what?” Loupa replied, smiling coquettishly.

Luciole sneered before taking a deep breath. “The Miraculouses.”

“Neither do you,” Cygnus replied nonchalantly. “Now would you please remove your insects from this building before anyone gets hurt.”

Ladybug’s heart warmed at the control Kagami and Luka were taking in this situation. _They learned quickly_.

Luciole calmed his features. “Alright I can do that.” With a flick of his wrist the fireflies flew towards him, but also the superheroes.

Chat’s eyes widened as he saw what was happening. Ladybug noticed it too, but their younger companions didn’t notice. Chat’s eyes offered Ladybug a plan and she accepted instantly, and they ran towards the youngest superheroes. Chat grabbed Luka and thrust him over his shoulder and ran towards the window. Ladybug grabbed Kagami’s arm and practically pushed her out the window. Not bothering to open them, Chat crushed the panes of glass with the corner of his baton and threw himself and Luka out the window with Ladybug and Kagami right at their heels.

With a thump Chat landed on his back, cushioning the fall for Luka and the girls. He felt his lady haul him to his feet as she yelled at the civilians in the near vicinity. “RUN! FIND SHELTER! TELL EVERYONE TO STAY AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE! THERE HAS BEEN AN ATTACK!” The older superheroes huddled next to Kagami and Luka. “What is your plan,” Ladybug asked. Luka and Kagami looked at her blankly. She growled. “Come on, think. This will not be the last time you meet him so you better be ready to come up with a plan as quick as possible, so what is your plan.”

Luka ruffled the front of his bangs. “We need to get to his hearing aids, as you have told us, but we need to find a weakness.”

“If we keep on surprising him, we could get closer to him. We all saw him drop his visions when I jumped on him. Maybe we just need to jump him a few times?” Kagami suggested.

“What are you going to do now?” Chat prompted.

Luka pointed to the series of light poles around Gabriel’s fashion company. “If we can light those, they could distract his lightning bugs so we can get to him. Maybe we can have you two hide up on the roofs adjacent to the building and come down to grab his hearing aids.” Luka looked at Ladybug for approval. “How does that sound?”

Ladybug nodded, giving him a small smile. “That sounds good. It’s getting dark, so we might have to wait a few more minutes to put that plan into action.”  Her jaw twitched as she changed her attention to Luciole. He was rising above the roof of the building in front of them, accompanied by the angry buzz of the fireflies. Her breathing hitched. “We need to get him away from that building, or he’ll gain more power.” The superheroes around Ladybug looked at her with confused looks. Ladybug’s eyes got darker and she pushed gently against their arms. “Move,” Ladybug whispered.

The crew jumped into action and they spread out. Ladybug pulled out her yoyo while Chat brought out his classic baton. Loupa Grise pulled out a short bola from the tie around her waist while Cygnus unhooked a small circus ring from underneath his feathers.

Above the roof Luciole rose on a bed of fireflies. The building below him was rumbling like a time bomb. From the corner of Ladybug’s eye she saw civilians stopping in the street, frozen to their spots. _We have to stop the explosion before anyone gets hurt._ Ladybug looked over at her companions to get an idea of what to do when Kagami got a spark in her eye. Without being prompted Kagami touched the bridge of her nose, pressing at the glasses that adorned her mask. “Howl,” She whispered. Beneath her finger tips, the muzzle of her mask sparkled with black particles as she summoned her powers. She tentatively touched Luka’s arm, asking him for direction. It was exactly as they practiced. Their powers worked in harmony like Ladybug and Chat Noir’s, and during the late night practicing of the last month, the bond between the new superheroes had grown stronger.

Cygnus pointed to a weak point in the building in front of them and Loupa nodded. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath in. Just before the building in front exploded, Loupa let out a howl that made the building collapse immediately. The power from the mask enveloped the falling building in a bubble that minimized the noise and dust from the fall. The fireflies that had caused the bomb got caught underneath the bubble and could not respond to their master’s calling. They bumped up against the bubble before falling to the ground. Loupa smiled smugly up at Luciole. Even from the distance between them, Ladybug could see Luciole’s fist clench in irritation.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir,” Cygnus whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “I want you to get the civilians out and moving. If they stay any longer they are bound to get hurt.” He turned to his partner. “Loupa, dear, would you mind distracting him with your bola while I start on the lights?”

Lupa Grise shook her head. “It’s not dark enough yet and I have to transform soon to recharge. I need your help distracting him,” she commanded. Luciole started to float down from his place in the sky and a large cloud of fireflies were making their way around the superheroes.

Cygnus nodded, screwing his mouth in determination. “Alright. That’ll have to wait then.” Ladybug and Chat Noir watched in amazement as the pair ran off towards their villain.

“Our babies are growing up.” Chat wiped at the imaginary tears in his eyes, making Ladybug laugh. She grabbed his hand to direct him towards the civilians.

"Come on Trouble, we can’t stand watching them all day.” The two of them walked quickly to the crowd of people with their arms interlocked. Ladybug suddenly became aware of their close proximity and she quickly let go of his hand. Chat just reached out and joined their hands again with a stronger grip. Ladybug gave him a look, but Chat shot back with a dazzling smile. He leaned his mouth against her ear. His breath tickled the hair of her pigtails against the base of her neck, and Ladybug shivered. He chuckled before saying: “No need to feel scared, Kiki. I have known for a while.”

Ladybug stopped their movement towards the hoard of people. “What!”

Chat chuckled at her reaction. He let go of her hand and continued going towards the civilians.

Ladybug put her hands on her hips. “Now don’t you walk away from me, Mr. When were you going to tell me!”

Chat shrugged. “There wasn’t exactly a great time in between all the crime fighting. My apologizes, My Lady. I also wanted to see how long it took you,” Chat added cheekily. He reached out his hand, which Ladybug took quickly.

Ladybug bumped her shoulder against his, giving him an affectionate look. “It didn’t take me that long.” Ladybug paused their conversation as they got closer to the people of Paris who were watching the battle with interest. A few of them had turned towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, watching their exchange curiously. Ladybug sighed with a small curve to her lips.

She pointed to the side streets behind the group of people and addressed them. “All of you need to get to safety now,” she called in a low voice. “Run as far away as possible and spread the news. Treat this like an akuma attack. Now go!” Ladybug urged. The crowd nodded obediently and they quickly spread the message through the crowd before making their way quickly down the alleyways. From the corner of her eye she saw Chat repeating the information to another crowd of civilians a little farther down the street. Ladybug sighed and looked away, focusing on another crowd of civilians pushing each other down the alley. “No pushing, and no need to worry right now. You are safe. Now move calmly.” She commanded. The civilians instantly obeyed. Ladybug jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped around and met the intense gaze of Chat Noir. She instantly melted into his hand and gave him a careful smile.

“I meant to tell you that I knew when you switched your phone with mine that day at the hotel, but I got a little caught up.” Chat rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Ladybug chuckled and let Chat reach out to her cheek. His voice grew tender as he rubbed the pad of his thumb against Ladybug’s cheek, right under the mask. “I’m happy it was you…”

Ladybug reached up to Chat’s face and caressed his cheek as well. “Of course you would. I’m pretty happy myself. I get a rich and hot guy all to myself.”

Chat laughed. “And I get a beautiful and strong woman who I got to fall in love with twice…” The two had started to lean in closer, eyes slowly closing.”           

There was a cough beside them. “I’m guessing this is not the best time?”

Ladybug growled as she turned her head to find Alya and Nino smiling cheekily at them. Ladybug blushed and could feel Chat’s blush radiating heat beside her. “Not really,” Ladybug was able to get out.

Alya giggled mischievously.

“Stop snogging!!!!!!!” Yelled Kagami from her place on the street. She had some time to rest and was glancing towards her teachers. Even from the distance, Ladybug could see her rolling her eyes.

Alya chuckled at the two superheroes’ irritation at being interrupted. “Come on, you’ll have time later.” She gestured to herself and Nino as she continued. “We want to help you guys. What can we do?”

Chat Noir looked up at the sky and smiled at his friends. “How would you feel about turning on some lights.”

Nino crinkled his nose. “Oh come on, that’s easy. Give us something else to do.”

Alya wacked the back of his head. “Hey, on the way here you said you couldn’t wait to anything the famed Ladybug and Chat Noir wanted you to do.”

Nino sighed. “Ok, maybe I got a little excited. It’s been a while since we all worked together. I am ready for anything.”

Ladybug pointed to the roofs of Paris. “Then suit up.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Long time no see, I know. I'm sorry for taking so long writing this chapter. I rewrote it about five times because I couldn't get the right feeling. The Korean in this chapter is romanized lyrics, and I don't think I got the punctuation right, but I couldn't leave the song out. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Even though I have so many versions of this chapter, I worked hard to get it right. Sadly this fic is coming to an end because I only have one more chapter planned for this story. I have other stories planned, but I don't know when I'll have time to work on them. I'm going to try and finish the final chapter soon (maybe in time for the anniversary of this fic when I first posted it on fanfiction.net). Thank you again for reading this story. It really means a lot to me that people would even read my writing. Thank you for sticking with me. Please leave a comment, kudos, or subscribe if you would like. And until I write again, TTFN!


	19. Get a Room!

**Get a Room!**

Ladybug sat in a dark corner behind a trashcan as she kept watch. Kagami was behind Ladybug serving chips to her kawami. The crunchy chewing of Yoon, the wolf kawami, was barely heard over the noise of the battle in the distance. Every clank and yell she heard in the distance made her jump. She could barely focus on her own task of keeping Kagami safe. _I need to be out there with him_. Ladybug rubbed the back of her head for about the fifteenth time, making Kagami sigh.

“You know he’ll be fine, right?” she said with a small smile to her tone.

Ladybug jumped at the noise and looked back at Kagami. “What? Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Kagami let a small smile curve her lips. “Adrien. You know he’s going to be fine right? You two have done this for years. He knows how to take care of himself.”

Ladybug nodded, but the worry still clung to her mind. “I know that, but it’s hard not to worry about someone you love.” Ladybug smiled at the word, secretly proud at the fact she could say it out loud. “I mean, aren’t you worried about Cygnus?”

Kagami tilted her head so her hair masked her features. “Well yeah, he’s my partner and all…and the power from Yoon is telling me to protect him, but I wouldn’t say love.”

Ladybug smiled and went to go sit beside Kagami. “You don’t have to love him in a romantic way, but you have to admit it’s hard to just sit here with no news from someone who you depend on in battle,” Ladybug explained. Ladybug rested her back against the brick of the building beside them and she watched Kagami’s response.

Kagami nodded. “It’s weird coming from a background of fencing because all you do is rely on yourself. Now I work in a team where we have to trust another person to work with you to save the day.” Kagami looked past Ladybug and looked into the growing darkness longingly. “We need to get the lights set up,” she murmured.

“Rest first,” Yoon demanded between bits. “I don’t care if you feel like you need to keep going and going. You need rest first,” he insisted.

Ladybug nodded in agreement. “He’s right. I have my friends Alya and Nino working on operation lights. We’ve still got some time.” Ladybug pulled on one of her pigtails and peered out into the street again. “We need to get Luciole away from the people and closer to the Eiffel tower,” Ladybug thought aloud.

“Isn’t there more people at the tower?”

Ladybug pursed her lips. “Not exactly. Everyone in Paris should be in lock down, so no one should be near the tower. The Eiffel Tower is going to act like a street lamp and hopefully take more of the last of the fireflies away, or at least I hope so. By then Luciole should be powerless so his miraculous can be taken away and Paris and return to normal thanks to Cygnus’ powers.”

Kagami nodded at the plan. “Sounds pretty solid. Got any plans about luring Luciole to the tower?” was her follow up question.

Ladybug smiled. “No clue; we’ll make it up as we go along. It’ll be fun!” Ladybug cheered.

Kagami rolled her eyes. “I think you’ve been around Adrien too long. By the way, how’s the identity thing going?” Kagami wiggled her eyebrows.

Ladybug blushed and coughed into her hand. “It’s going well. Not too much to report….” Ladybug glanced at her yoyo for the time. “The official reveal only happened like two hours ago, but nothing’s really happened because we keep on getting interrupted…”

Kagami fought to hide a laugh. “Yeah, you keep on being ‘interrupted’. It’s not like we’re in the middle of a battle right now or anything.” Kagami looked over and shared a look with Yoon.

Ladybug glowered at them. “OH! Look at the time!” Ladybug said sarcastically. “It’s time to transform.” Ladybug left the alley to let Kagami transform.

Kagami and Yoon rolled their eyes at each other. Kagami dusted herself off and adjusted the glasses on her face and whispered to Yoon. “Ready for some action? Raise my hackles.” With the small phrase, Yoon jumped up and absorbed himself in the glasses, letting the transformation begin. Kagami breathed a happy sigh as she felt the furry suit settle onto her figure. With a quick howl of happiness, Loupa Grise bounded onto the street, joining at Ladybug’s side.

The two superheroes ran to their counter parts to join in on the action. They were moving Luciole slowly away from the fashion headquarters, but it was going extremely slow. Both Chat Noir and Cygnus had extendable weapons that could be thrown and be used as heavy objects, but they didn’t have the tying power of a yoyo or a bola. Cygnus was jumping on the sides of buildings as he hurled his enlarged circus ring at Luciole. The large metal ring would either hit the cloud of fireflies below Luciole or hit Luciole’s legs. Both of these strategies kept Luciole distracted enough to not use any illusions. Chat Noir, on the other hand, was using his baton to directly fight Luciole and the hordes of fireflies that the supervillain was sending at him. Chat Noir was beating back most of them, but Ladybug could tell the slight difference in his stance that suggested he was tiring. Ladybug unhooked her yoyo silently, while her other hand urged Kagami to go in front of her. Loupa Grise crept around the building in front of them, swinging her bola. With a sudden battle cry, Loupa Grise ran onto one of the sides of the building and launched her weapon at Luciole’s feet. Her bola made contact with Cygnus’ ring creating a bigger weapon that tripped Luciole up easily. This gave Chat a moments rest. He rested his hands on his knees and took deep breaths of air while he could, noticing Ladybug approach him. He shared a weak smile with her before glancing down at his feet again to try to regain his breath. Ladybug flew over to him, landing perfectly at the side of her partner.

“Looks like you got yourself into some Trouble, as usual,” Ladybug murmured, bumping Chat’s shoulder and giving him a wink. Chat, not so subtly, took Ladybug’s hand and kissed it with ceremony. He stood straighter and seemed to get energy from her gaze.

“I couldn’t help myself, my Lady.” Chat batted his eyes at Ladybug and let his lips stay a moment too long on her hand. Ladybug let out a happy hum at his gesture, and let her hand stay in his grasp. Their conversation, however, was put on hold as Luciole untangled himself from Loupa and Cygnus’ bola/ring mix. He glared down at the superheroes in disgust from his vantage point on the ground. He snapped his fingers and his cloud of bugs rose high above the road once again. Cygnus let out a groan and he fell against Loupa’s shoulder in mock agitation.

“Really!? Can’t you just stay on the ground for like two seconds? Please, do it for me?” Cygnus pleaded before rolling his head into Loupa’s shoulder and softly groaning into it. Loupa’s eyes widened and her shoulders stiffened as she felt his breath tickle the hairs on her neck. “Get off,” she whispered hoarsely, weakly pushing him off of her. Cygnus pouted momentarily before evening his features.

Meanwhile, Luciole ignored the peasants on the ground as he rose higher and higher, gaining energy from the fireflies below him. “WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT!” Luciole screamed. He reached out a hand towards the cluster of superheroes and a hoard of fireflies zoomed towards their target. Cygnus pulled himself and Loupa out of the way just in time and threw himself and Loupa behind a car so they had a chance to grab their weapons before joining the rest of the team. Ladybug jumped into action and spun her yoyo around and around, creating a shield for herself and Chat. Chat spun his baton this way and that, hitting stray clusters of fireflies that made their way around the shield.

“This guy is really getting on my nerves. Can’t he just like…stop?” Chat sighed. He took a moment to make eye contact with his partner. They locked gazes and instantly forgot what they were supposed to be focused on. _The hazards of revealing identities in the middle of a battle._ A stray firefly hit the side of Chat’s head and Paris disappeared from their vision. Chat was surrounded by the smell of his and Marinette’s apartment. He and Ladybug were both in the kitchen with coffee ready on the table and ambient music playing in the background, presumably from the bathroom. The two of them were rather close, but Chat didn’t mind.  He smiled at Ladybug, lost in the moment. Ladybug seemed lost as well as she let out a hand and let her head rest on his shoulder. Chat started to feel something off. _We shouldn’t be doing this…..why?_ Somewhere in the distance Chat heard a battle cry and the vision of the apartment blurred and they were shocked back into reality.

Chat blinked his eyes rapidly as he processed the scenery around him return to that of Paris. Ladybug was doing the same beside him. Both of their weapons had dropped to the ground and they found their hands reaching towards their own miraculous. Chat and Ladybug jumped simultaneously, retracting their hands and staring in shock up at Luciole. Luciole had already moved on to his next prey: Cygnus and Loupa.

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir grabbed their weapons and got to work with distracting Luciole again. “That shouldn’t have happened,” Ladybug whispered. Chat grunted in reply. “I was so dumb! I knew revealing identities would be bad!” Ladybug’s eyebrows creased in worry as she overanalyzed the situation. It was easy to distract Luciole, but it was not so easy to ignore each other.

Chat wrapped his hands around Ladybug’s waist and pulled her out of the way of a group of fireflies. Chat rested his chin on Ladybug’s head and whispered: “I’m glad. I don’t think I could have waited any longer, my love. It’s okay to get distracted by my looks; I know they’re heavenly.”

Ladybug’s face warmed and she let out a small smile and swiveled her head to kiss his cheek briefly. “Thanks,” she whispered back. Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug saw Cygnus roll his eyes as he escaped another volley of fireflies. She pointed at them. “HEY! Focus!”

“Whatever you say, mom!” He called back cheekily.

Ladybug and Chat Noir joined their students and tried a few more tactics to lure Luciole away from Gabriel’s demolished offices.  “Are Alya and Nino ready yet?” Chat urgently whispered. He pointed to the darkness that was spreading in the sky.

Ladybug shrugged, her eyebrows knitting together. “Not sure. They haven’t told me anything.” Ladybug glanced at the sky and nodded in agreement with Chat. “I hope they’re ready.” Luciole’s fireflies were the only lights on the street as the rays of the sun disappeared below the horizon. The yoyo in Ladybug’s hand buzzed. She didn’t even have to check it to know that Alya and Nino were about to turn the lights on. Ladybug caught Cygnus’ eye, and his eyes flickered in confirmation before he relayed the message to Loupa. Luciole was oblivious in his rage to the superheroes’ communication. Luciole seemed like a hard person to anger. Ladybug was satisfied that he was finally reaching a breaking point. Reaching the breaking point meant the end was near.

The street lamps that Ladybug could see closest to her were starting to turn on.  They started out very dim, but became brighter and brighter. The street lamps were being put to their limit as the lights became as bright as they could before burning a fuse. At first nothing seemed to be affected by the lights, but the longer the lights were on, the more restless the fireflies became. The fireflies seemed to lose interest in hurting the superheroes, and more interested in the street lamps. As the street lamps started to flicker, a large amount of fireflies veered off of their path and made their way towards the light. Once the fireflies even touched the glass of the lamp, they fell to the ground in a daze. The superheroes took that as their cue to leave the premises.

Ladybug and Chat Noir took the lead by running down the nearest street with Loupa and Cygnus not far behind. Luciole roared behind them as a part of his army broke away from his control. “Do you think he’ll follow us?” Cygnus asked, breathing a little hard as the group made their way down the streets of Paris to the Eiffel tower. They ran alongside the Seine as Ladybug pulled up her phone app on her yoyo.

“Oh there’s no doubt,” was Ladybug’s reply as she dialed a number, “We have someone he wants.” Ladybug gave Chat a look. Chat Noir raised his eyebrows in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ladybug held up a hand as the person on the line picked up.

“Alright, we’ve got the lamps turned on, although I’m not sure how long they’ll last at this magnitude,” Nino said. “We had to override the system to get them to go higher than the safest brightness, but really that was easy.” Nino rambled about the technicalities of hacking the system, but he stopped his stream of consciousness to ask: “When do you want us to turn them off, by the way? I’d rather not have to pay for the damages.”

“In about five seconds; we’re almost to the Eiffel Tower. Tell Alya we’re here once you’ve turned everything off,” Ladybug ordered. “There won’t be any fines, so don’t worry. Thank you and we’ll see you soon.” Ladybug pressed end call and snapped the yoyo to her waist. She turned to Chat and gestured for him to continue.

Chat’s hanging mouth popped as he jumped into the thousands of questions that came streaming out. “Is it because we’re cousins? 2nd cousins? Some kind of relation? Did I not give him a good grade when he was in a physics class???” Chat asked. The group had gotten to the base of the Eiffel Tower and Chat Noir jumped on first before reaching down a hand to help everyone up.

“You’re brothers,” Ladybug grunted, using Chat’s hand to help hoist herself up, straining both of their arm muscles. Ladybug cried out as Chat almost dropped her in surprise.

“Brothers?????! But-“ Chat protested, helping Ladybug up all the way with an apologetic smile mixing with his shocked expression.

“I don’t know all the facts, but your mother had another son before you… in another relationship. I don’t know why he’s angry at you and your father, but that’s basically why he’s after you and your father, but that’s pretty much why he’s after you,” Ladybug explained.

There was a roar in the distance and the lights of Paris went out. Chat Noir joined his hands with Ladybug’s and gave her a soft smile. “Well I’ll have to make the chase fun for him, won’t I?”

Ladybug sidled closer and rubbed her thumb against his palm. “Of course. You have to be more dramatic than him, don’t you?”

Cygnus groaned from behind them. Loupa hit him to shut him up, but Cygnus began to whine. “I know, I know; they love each other deeply and that’s cool and all, but come on. It was so obvious for so long!”

Loupa rolled her eyes and waved at Ladybug and Chat Noir to continue with their moment as she pushed at Cygnus. “It was obvious to you because you accidently found out her identity after a battle one time and saw her transform. Just let them enjoy their moment. We can take care of Luciole for a while.” Loupa pulled Cygnus away. The two of them jumped farther up the Eiffel Tower leaving their teachers alone. Even as they got farther away, Ladybug could still hear Cygnus complaining about he knew it since he first met her and Adrien. Ladybug laughed quietly, gazing down at her hands placed inside of Chat’s.

“She understands,” Chat murmured with a smile. “But I don’t think we can stay here for very long, no matter how much I want to. I waited for so long, but I can wait for a more private moment.” Chat lifted one of his claws to card it through Ladybug’s bangs.

Ladybug hummed at the feeling. “You’re so cheesy,” She whispered, her voice just above a hum. She reached forward and pressed a kiss onto Chat Noir’s nose. Chat’s eyes drooped and he leaned towards Ladybug trying to make her do it again. Ladybug just shook her head and pushed Chat back by pressing on his freshly kissed nose with her finger. He pouted. “That’s what you get for now. You’ll have to wait for more. We still have a villain to deal with.”

Chat sighed dramatically but let Ladybug lead them towards the edge of the tower. Luciole was still a few streets down, but even from this distance they could see he was furious. The cloud below him was significantly smaller, but he still had ample amount of ammo. There were two objects bouncing around him, tripping him up. Chat and Ladybug smiled in pride.

Ladybug was distracted as her yoyo buzzed. She glanced down to see a text from Alya. <All ready. Tell me when ;-)>

“We’ve got to get him closer,” Chat said, reading over Ladybug’s shoulder. He extended his baton and lodged it in a crack in the pavement below. Ladybug swung her yoyo at the closest building and tightened the string. They jumped at the same time, launching themselves at Luciole.

000

Alya tapped the buttons around her as she stared glumly at her phone. She had managed to get herself into this room that controlled all the lights on and near the Eiffel Tower. That was great and all but that brought her nowhere near the fight. The office wasn’t even near the Eiffel Tower.

Alya groaned again. “Why couldn’t Nino do this part! He gets to see the battle if he wants while I’m stuck down here to turn on lights! And if I get out, the battle will be done. No footage; no action. It was so much more fun being Rena Rouge back in the day.” She looked at her phone beside her. “Why couldn’t they have needed me?” she said to herself.

There was a knock on the door and Alya launched out of her chair towards the door. “I really hope it is not security.” Alya pushed against the door in an effort to stop the other person coming in from the other side. She flicked the lock and held her breath. “Just go away,” she murmured.

“Hun, it’s me…Nino? Ring a bell?”

Alya let out a big puff of air and quickly opened the door to let Nino in. “Don’t do that! You scared me! I thought I was caught or something.” Nino smiled at Alya’s face and he pressed a kiss to her cheek before sitting in the vacant seat by the computers, letting Alya lock the door up again. “Why didn’t you join the others?” Alya asked, sitting on the counter beside Nino since he took the only chair in the room.

“I thought you might want some company, plus I don’t think they need our help right now,” Nino explained tilting his head back and closing his eyes. “How are you doing here? Knowing you, you do not like to be apart from the action.

Alya growled. “I don’t, but I don’t really have a choice. I really want to transform, but as you said they already have it handled up there…but it feels like I’m doing nothing.” Alya pouted and let her gaze slide to the computers beside her.

Nino gave her a look. “You’re doing stuff now through. Ladybug needed you for this. You’re a big girl. You can deal with the not so fun tasks.”

“Oh stop playing the devil’s advocate,” Alya retorted. “You can’t deny that a little action would be cool.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “How did you know?” He laughed a little. He looked around at the control center in front of them. Thankfully all of the buttons were carefully labeled as if waiting for a newbie. “Do any of the workers know you’re in here?” Nino asked slyly.

Alya shook her head. “No, and hopefully I’ll be out of here before they notice. If they do happen to catch me, I can always blame Chat Noir or Ladybug. It’s very handy knowing them for just that reason.”

Nino raised an eyebrow and hummed. “You, my dear, are a trickster.”

Alya smiled. “And you are my guide.”

There was a thump overhead that paused their conversation. Alya checked her phone anxiously. “I hope they’re doing alright,” she murmured. _Still no text from Ladybug_. “Hurry up,” Alya whispered.

The lights flickered above Alya and Nino, and Nino shuffled in the chair anxiously. “Do you think there’s a security camera somewhere in here?” Nino asked.  Alya got up from her spot and took a glance around. She immediately noticed a covered up screen that looked like it came out of the 1980s, and she tossed the cloth off of them. She found the power button and flicked it on. After fiddling with a few buttons she found the camera closest to where the battle was happening. The visual was terrible, but she could make out one enormous dot that was Luciole and four tiny dots around him, who she assumed were the superheroes. There was one tiny dot that Alya noticed, which seemed to be out of control. As she watched closer he or she was being thrown against the ground repeatedly. _That would be where all the thumping is coming from._ She squinted closer to the screen and identified two cat ears on top of the person’s head. Luciole was becoming too powerful. No one was helping Chat Noir. _Something’s wrong_. Alya ran over to the control board and looked frantically at her blank phone screen.

“What’s wrong? What did you see?” Nino asked frantically, leaning over Alya to try and help her with the controls.

“Chat’s in trouble. We need to turn the lights on now,” she commanded.

After glancing at the security cam one more time, Alya turned her attention to the control board and started to flick on the lights around and on the Eiffel Tower. Her phone screen lit up momentarily with a quick message of <thx> typed by Ladybug.

Alya grabbed her things and urged Nino to follow her. “Come on, we’ve got to go and get up there. Alya closed the door behind her, and on second thought, locked the door behind her. _Might as well make it look like no one was here_. Alya grinned at Nino, and he gave her a sneaky grin.

“Let’s get your footage,” Nino said with a knowing smile.

Alya shrugged her shoulders. “You know me too well.”

000

His vision was blurry. His chest ached like several ribs were broken. On second thought, they probably were. Chat knew he was somewhere near the Eiffel Tower, or at least that’s where he was supposed to be. What he saw around him were white walls covered in little, tiny fingerprints, like they were made by a child. Chat groaned as he tried to sit up. A few bones in his spine cracked and he groaned again. He was surprised to look down and notice that his black superhero suit had dissolved to his normal civilian clothes.

He seemed to be in a small apartment of sorts. It didn’t have too much decoration to it, but was furnished with a few essentials. The image of the apartment weaved in and out, and Adrien suddenly realized this was a mirage. From the adjoined room to the left, Adrien could hear a little kid laughing. Adrien followed the sound to investigate.

The cheap floor boards squeaked as he made his way into a child’s bedroom. On the floor of the bedroom was a mother and son having a tickle fight. The two people looked familiar to Adrien, but he could only see the backs of their heads. The mother reached and grabbed the child by the waist and spun him around, peppering him with kisses. Adrien immediately recognized the mother’s face. It was his own mother, but the child in her arms was not him.

“That’s my mother,” a voice whispered into Adrien’s ear. Adrien jumped and tried to attack the person, but they just leaned out of the way.

Luciole shook his head and ignored Adrien as he stared at Emilie and his younger self. “This is one of the last memories I have of our mother before she left me for your father. I was the only person she loved before she met Gabriel.” Luciole said the name with venom. “She didn’t want me anymore when she was given the life of luxury with Mr. Agreste; she didn’t need anything tying her down. She didn’t need anything to remind her of her mistake.”

Adrien’s vision blurred as Luciole changed memories. In between memories, Adrien briefly heard screaming and was left wondering if that was part of a memory or part of the battle he was missing.

The next memory that Luciole settled on was of him staring at Adrien’s home from far away. In one of the windows of the mansion was little Adrien with his mom. She and Gabriel were spinning little Adrien around, laughing and smiling. Luciole sneered. “All I wanted was to become part of your family. It wasn’t that crazy of a wish. I was stuck living in an orphanage for the rest of my childhood. I never really saw my mother again. I didn’t even know she had died till it was six months after the fact.” The memory flickered as Luciole breathed deeply, trying to control himself.

Adrien stopped watching the scene as he heard Luciole’s words. “Dead? No, my mother disappeared. She never-“

Luciole let out a cold laugh. “You are still so naive.” Luciole set a firm hand on Adrien’s shoulder. His nails dug slightly into the skin, making Adrien’s skin crawl. “She died in a car accident as she went to get me from the orphanage, apparently. She had finally convinced Gabriel to add me to the family, but she died without you even knowing I was your brother.” The memories flickered one more time and the scene settled in what Adrien guessed was Hawkmoth’s lair. He had never been here as he was forced to forget the final battle with Hawkmoth. It seemed like any typical, evil lair, but the furnishings were a little sparse. In this memory Gabriel was transforming for the first time. A smaller Luciole stood off in the corner of the room. As Adrien looked closer, he saw Gabriel’s eyes glow.

“I only messed with his memories a little, don’t worry” Luciole commented. “I just needed him to get the passion and strength to become one of the best supervillains the world has met. It was one of the first times I used my powers. Ah, the memories…” Luciole and Adrien continued to stand there, watching.

“That’s all you wanted?” Adrien asked, exasperated. “You destroyed my family life just because you couldn’t have your own?” Adrien put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow to Luciole. Luciole looked back at him with a blank face as if to say ‘duh?’ Adrien sighed. “You know you could have asked for anything. Like you said, my father and I had no clue for most of the time, but you could have written our mom; it’s not like she got corrupted.” Adrien carefully laid a hand on Luciole’s shoulder. “We would have welcomed you even after her…death.” Adrien gulped. He still was coming to terms even with that fact, let alone the fact that this man was his brother. “You are welcome in our family now, even if you think you’re an outcast. My father was an outcast for a while too…” The stone around the two of them started to waver. Adrien glanced over at Luciole and saw that his eyes were no longer hard and stony. Adrien held out a hand. “Come home with me.”

Adrien had never lived in an orphanage. He knew he probably knew nothing of feeling that alone. He had gotten a taste of it when his mother had disappeared, though, taking the love of his father with her. The loneliness had only reappeared when his father had gone to jail. He and Luciole shared a mother, and the best thing to possibly repair this was to help Luciole recover from a whole life of feeling lonely.

Luciole sneered at the outstretched hand. “You think I’ll just go with you like that? You know nothing of what I have gone through! You never lost a mother like I did! You never lost your family like I did!!”

Adrien felt his jaw tense and he struggled to take a deep breath, but he never let his hand fall. “I don’t expect you to join me this quickly; I know better. You may think that you were the only one to lose a family, but when our mother died, I lost my family too because my dad lost all empathy as he was controlled by grief. You really think you’re the only one who has suffered?” Adrien arched his eyebrow and felt the world around the two of them start to flicker unstably. “You were the reason why I lost everything, but I didn’t turn into a villain did I? I could have….I had the powers.” Adrien gestured to the ring that adorned his finger. “I could have joined the dark side like you did, but I didn’t…..”

“That doesn’t make you stronger than me,” Luciole growled. “I had more years of pain and suffering because I lost everything and had no one to turn to.”

“You could have gone to find me! You had no clue what I was like. Did you at all about the fact that I was raised by the same mom as you, so I wouldn’t be that different? You needed to communicate. I would have helped. I still will.” Adrien set his lips in a firm line and lifted his hand and held it firmly in front of Luciole so that it almost poked him in the chest.

Luciole stared into Adrien’s pupils, but his gaze flickered down to the hand. The mirage around Adrien flickered to a blank and flickering screen as Luciole solely focused on Adrien’s hand. Luciole stretched out his hand tentatively towards Adrien’s. The fake walls around them began to fall, and the two were back in Paris, underneath the lit up Eiffel Tower. The fireflies had disappeared and they were now huddled up against the lights that Alya and Nino had turned on. Out of the corner of Chat Noir’s eye he saw Ladybug watching with her eyes knit together. Her lips were pulled in a straight line as she held Cygnus back from helping. She knew what had to be done. Kagami were nowhere in sight.

Chat Noir felt Luciole’s hand slip into his, and green met green. The magic that had fluttered around Luciole was gone. Luciole took a deep breath as he started to shake hands with Chat. “I want to try,” he breathed.

Someone jumped from behind Luciole and latched themselves onto Luciole’s head. Luciole jumped in momentary fear as he felt claws dig at his ears. His eyes hardened and a growl was ripped from both he and Loupa. “You lied to me.” Luciole glared at Chat, but Chat shook his head.

“I still want you to come home and be a part of the family, but the powers have to go… at least for a little while.”

Loupa Grise paused her scratching as she watched the two men interact from her vantage point on top of Luciole’s head. Cygnus came up from behind Chat holding his circus ring. He assessed the situation quickly and put his weapon away, opting for grabbing at his choker. Loupa’s hands hovered hesitantly over the hearing aids as Cygnus’ hand was held up to make her stop. Cygnus met Luciole’s eyes. “I can’t restore everything if you don’t give up your power. All the destruction will remain if you keep that miraculous on,” was all Cygnus said. He held his hands up in surrender, explaining that he had no other plans.

Luciole snarled, but his eyes held no menacing glow. He took a glance around him and saw the city of Paris in shambles, lit up by the light of the released fireflies and street lamps. The Eiffel Tower let off a serene glow that reflected off of the Seine beside it. Ladybug stood off to the side, clearly worried but willing to let the newbies take over. Nino and Alya stood off to the side with phones in hand taping everything that went down in front of them. The battle was already won, _but what if it wasn’t_.

“It would make you lonely,” Cygnus answered the villain’s thoughts. “If you killed us all now, you would get your revenge, but there would be no reward. Emilie Agreste can’t come back, but both of her sons are still here…” Cygnus left off, waiting for Luciole to make his own decision.

Luciole reached up to his ears and pulled his hearing aids out with a little pop. Loupa crawled down as the transformation lifted and a young Luciole in baggy clothes was left standing on the street.

Chat walked over and held both of Luciole’s shoulders and smiled. “Welcome to the family.”

Behind the two brothers Cygnus rubbed the stone attached to his choker, and bright strands of light soared across Paris restoring buildings and cars as well as memories.

Ladybug sidled up next to Chat and slipped her hand into his. Luciole sat on the ground and looked up at the superheroes. He pulled his own pair of hearing aids from his pocket and slid them into his ear. The young boy in front of Ladybug and Chat Noir seemed so small now when he had no powers left. He waited patiently for the police to handcuff him, and he obeyed when they took him to the car. Chat held his gaze the whole time, promising that he would be there along the way to rebuild their family.

As the police drove away, Chat’s attention was drawn to the people around them. Cygnus and Loupa were excitedly reenacting the battle to fill in parts for Ladybug and him. Cygnus had his eyes shining as he bounced around Loupa, pretending she was Luciole. Loupa just stood there with a small smile playing on her features.

Chat’s gaze shifted to his Lady beside him, and a purr rumbled deep in his chest. Ladybug’s attention was pulled towards him and she rolled her eyes playfully as she saw the protective gaze in Chat’s eyes.

“Everything’s back to normal,” she said, smiling at the feeling of her hand in his. She took a glance around and noticed that no one was paying attention to them, and a glint came into her eye. Without warning she pounced, pushing both she and Chat to the ground. They both grunted as they hit the ground, but neither really cared (except for a few of Chat’s ribs). Ladybug wrapped her arms around Chat’s middle and nuzzled her head against his collar bone. Chat lay there in shock, but rapidly reacted and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. “Missed you,” was all Ladybug said as she hugged Chat a little tighter before letting go and she attempted to stand up. Chat immediately pulled her back down.

“Now where do you think you’re going?” Chat pressed a short peck against her cheek. Ladybug pushed herself away with mock disgust.

“But you smell!” she cried.

Chat chuckled and leaned his lips close to Ladybug’s ear. “Your shower or mine then?”

A bright, red blush covered Ladybug’s entire body as she jumped off of his lap and pushed him hard against the pavement, making him roll onto his stomach. He broke out laughing. Ladybug kicked his foot weakly, still very red, causing him to laugh more.

Ladybug stomped her foot. “You can’t just say those things…Trouble-maker.”

Chat paused his laughing to wink up at her. “Oh yes I can, _Kicki_.” Ladybug couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she leaned down to kiss him. There was a groan behind them.

“Get a room!” Kagami shouted, grinning. Cygnus was beside her hiding his eyes behind his hands while Kagami stood there looking unimpressed. “Just get on with it so I can go home!”

Ladybug frowned. Chat laid a hand on her cheek. “Yours or mine?” he asked again.

The receding blush bloomed again as Ladybug whispered: “Ours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! We are at the end!!!!!! Oh my gosh I can't believe we have gotten here. It has been a super long journey since the first chapter that I posted on fanfiction.net. That was about two years ago!!!!! Thank you for those who have read this story all along, but also to those who have found it recently and enjoyed it. I loved all of your guys' support, and I'm sorry I couldn't write the chapters quicker. I hope you liked the story because I loved writing it. Please leave kudos, comments, or a follow if you would like. Until I write another story, TTFN!


	20. In My Feelings

**In My Feelings**

It was a peaceful evening in Paris, for once. The sun was setting and the bright lights of the street lamps were just beginning to glow. There were a few tourists still out, but Paris was winding down from the hectic day. Marinette sat nursing a nice cup of hot coffee on the small balcony outside of her apartment. “Finally, a nice and quiet night in Paris. Haven’t had one of these for a while, have we Tikki?” Marinette glanced over at her kawami, smiling happily.

Tikki sat on the table beside Marinette’s sofa chair munching on her dinner. She shared the smile with Marinette, her eyes crinkling. “It has been a long time coming. All of the crazy events of owning a new company, changing apartments, saving Paris, and training new superheroes can really take some time. You deserve the break.”

Marinette leaned her head back and looked into the sky. There was too much light pollution to see any stars, but that did not stop her from admiring the night sky.

“Where is Adrien tonight?” Tikki asked. She pulled a small patchwork blanket over her tiny body and snuggled against the head of the chair as she felt a brisk breeze tickle her antennas.

Marinette shrugged. “He’s probably working on the term papers that his students turned in. He likes to work in his office at the school; less distractions.” Marinette sighed discontentedly. “I wish he was home, though. We haven’t hung out in ages, even though we live together.” There was a ding from her phone beside her, and Marinette reached out to glance at the screen. Alya had texted some weird meme, and Marinette rolled her eyes, leaving the message on read. Another few seconds passed before there was another ding, and then another. The peaceful night was soon muffled by the dance party Alya was creating. Marinette growled, finally giving in to look at the messages. There were a few from Alya, as well as Luka and Kagami. Alya’s messages consisted of Ladybug and Chat memes from the battle with Luciole. Each meme had a gif of Ladybug and Chat staring at each other while either Cygnus or Loupa running behind them. A slight blush dusted Marinette’s cheeks as she quickly typed a response.

Stop being mean!! >:-( I swear we were paying attention! **:** **Marinette**

**Alya:** This is your punishment for not telling me that you and Adrien were dating!!!

Marinette rolled her eyes again as she took a glance at the other messages.

Luka had several messages asking what he should wear to dinner that night to meet Loupa, and whether or not he should show her his new songs. Marinette smiled a little as she reminded him that he would be in his super suit; there would be no dressing up.

Kagami on the other hand was telling her about how annoying Cygnus was. She was asking Marinette to politely tell Cygnus to shut the hell up and stop texting her through her kawami. Yoon was about willing to knock the boy’s lights out. Marinette complied and sent a quick message to both, reminding them to have a fun ‘date’, before she silenced both chats. Marinette leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. “Finally some peace and quiet.”

Marinette closed her eyes, and felt herself drifting off to sleep when a rather sharp rock flew onto her thigh. She cried out in pain and looked at the rock that had decided to interrupt her peaceful evening. Not soon after, another, a much larger rock was thrown onto the balcony, nearly missing her head. Marinette grabbed the rocks and made her way angrily to the edge of her balcony. Below her was a young man playing with several rocks in his hand. With good aim, and a strong arm, Marinette lobbed both rocks at the boy’s head. The young man looked up, startled. His face was covered in the shadow of his hood, so Marinette couldn’t quite tell who it was, but at that moment, she could care less.

“Watch What You’re Doing With THOSE ROCKS YOUNG MAN! You could knock someone out!!” Marinette yelled. She caught a glint of a smile as another rock whizzed past her ear. Marinette quickly leaned out of the way. She glared daggers at the young boy below her. “DON’T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE, MISTER! I may be small, but I _will_ drag you by your ear to your parent’s doorstep!” Marinette warned, taking off one of her slippers and waving it threateningly.

The boy quickly dropped the rocks and put his hands up in surrender. His shoulders were shaking with what Marinette assumed was fear. Only when his hood fell did she notice he was laughing. The bright face of Adrien Agreste smiled up at her and Marinette’s shoulders slumped. “ADRIEN! Are you insane!? What the hell were you doing?!” Marinette called down to him in disbelief.

Adrien shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to get your attention!” He yelled back. He grinned cheekily as Marinette shook her head.

“You are nothing but Trouble, mister,” was all Marinette could reply with. She shook her head, but let a small smile grace her features.

Adrien shrugged his shoulders again. “I’m okay with that…but now that I’ve got your attention…” Adrien leaned down to a stereo that was at his feet and he flicked it on. The heavy beat of a rap song blared from the speakers. The bass nearly rocked the apartment building.

“Adrien turn that music down! You’re gonna have the police called on us!” Marinette scrambled around the edge of the balcony as simultaneously looked up and down the street trying to see if anyone was out as well as trying to find a place to hide in embarassment. She was very sure that one of their lower neighbors, who was on the older side, would call with a noise complaint. Marinette just hoped she wouldn’t get dragged into this even more than was necessary.

Adrien didn’t seem to care as he started to move to the beat, winking up at her. A blush rose to her cheeks as she watched Adrien from just below the railing of her balcony.

As the bass hit and the song got to its first verse, Adrien started to dance along to certain choreographed moves while screaming the words: “Kiki! Do you love me? Are you riding? Say you’ll never ever leave from beside me… ‘Cause I want ya, and I need ya… and I’m down for you always!”

Marinette ducked her head in embarrassment and squeaked. “This is not happening, right?” she asked Tikki behind her. Tikki had Marinette’s phone in front of her taking a video of Adrien. Tikki gave Marinette a mischievous shrug as she focused on the screen again. Marinette squeaked again, but let her eyes focus on Adrien again.

Adrien made a heart with his hands and walked up and down the sidewalk in front of their building continuing to sing along. He caught Marinette’s eye and he smiled sweetly at her. He dramatically blew a kiss at her and winked, knowing it would make her flustered and angry at the same time. “LB? Do you love me? Are you riding? Say you’ll never ever leave from beside me…’Cause I want ya…and I need ya…And I’m down for you always!” Marinette’s hands rose to hide her face, but her gaze never strayed from Adrien’s performance as she watched from between her fingers. It was honestly horrendous, and people were even stopping on the street to laugh and take videos, but Adrien didn’t seem to care. He just kept on smiling up at Marinette with an adoring smile that Marinette knew was just for her. _His father is going to kill him once these videos come out_ , Marinette thought.   _I’m gonna kill him_.

The song just kept on going for several minutes and Marinette was feeling ready to get in a hole and never come out of it. She loved Adrien, and she knew the feeling was reciprocated. Little actions to show their love was fine, but this was a little much. It was adorable and funny, but just a little embarrassing. Marinette watched with a small laugh as she saw Adrien spin around then drop into a squat attempting to twerk, but failing miserably. “I love that idiot,” Marinette whispered.

As the song came to an end, Adrien dipped down with a great bow and waved at the fans around him. He blew a kiss up to Marinette, making a big show out of it. Marinette bit her lip and ducked her head. She gave a small smile at Adrien as she rolled her eyes. “You crazy cat!” she called.

Adrien continued to grin. “Do you want me to do it again?” He asked, sounding like an overly hyper kitten.

“Hon, if I were you, I’d stop making all that racket and go home to your girl before I whap you one!” An old lady, about two stories below Marinette’s and Adrien’s apartment, was leaning out of the window with a nest of hair curlers piled on top of her head. “I have had to deal with you two for every morning for the past year waking me from my slumber with your terrible screeches. Please just save me for one night and morning, I beg you. Turn that stereo off and go on home.”

“Sweetie, just leave the youngsters alone. He’s just trying to be romantic; it’s the thought that counts,” a man from the old lady’s apartment called softly. The old lady whipped her head back inside.

“Shut up, Phil. I want sleep, and I’m going to get it tonight, not when I’m dead!” The woman snapped her head out the window and growled again at Adrien. “You hear that, young man?”

Everyone on the street, including Adrien, cowered at the volume of her voice, but remained where they were. They were all a little scared of her, but honestly wanted to know what was going to happen next.

“Breath, Rebecca,” said her husband. The old lady rolled her eyes, but she closed them and forced herself to breath. A thin smile spread across her face. The smile kind of made her look like she just ate a ferret.

“Would you mind going inside dear, and keeping it down.” The old woman took a glance up at Marinette. “I’m sure she is waiting for you.” She gave one last smile before slamming her window closed.

Adrien’s hand flew to the back of his neck, and he had the decency to blush. “Yes, ma’am,” Adrien murmured quickly pulling his hood down properly and turning off his stereo. He placed it carefully in his arms and ran into the apartment building, finding his way up five flights of stairs to return to his and Marinette’s apartment looking like a wet kitten.

Marinette’s face was still bright red as she opened the door for him and ushered him in. From the balcony the two could still hear hooting and hollering from the streets. Adrien laughed nervously as he caught Marinette’s slightly angered features. “Sorry about that,” Adrien whispered sheepishly.

Marinette shook her head at him, but a smile broke through and she struggled to keep a straight face. “I love you, but why do I have to be stuck with the craziest kitten in the world?” Marinette kissed Adrien’s cheek and pulled the stereo away from him. “I don’t think I can let you listen to American music anymore though. I think the music is getting to your head.”

Adrien opened his mouth in outrage. “I’m not going crazy! It’s good music.” He paused before he reached for another kiss and grabbed the stereo from Marinette’s hold again as soon as his lips touched hers. “I’m glad to hear you love me, LB.”

Marinette huffed and grabbed out for the stereo, but Adrien danced out of the way. “Come back here!”

“Never!” Adrien cried, running from the room with Marinette close behind. They raced around their small apartment, but soon the fight over the stereo was forgotten as they ended up falling asleep on their shared bed, faces nuzzled together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! I lied; I had one more chapter ready for you guys. I heard the song one day over the summer and knew it had to be a part of the story, especially because of the nicknames. This is officially the end of Shower Talk, but who knows if I'll hear a song and want to have Marinette and Adrien dance to it. Thank you again for reading this story. Until I write again, TTFN!

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a new series that I am still working on that I will be updating regularly for a little while before I get to what I am currently writing. I read a prompt for this on Tumblr where someone wanted a story where neighbors had showers next to each other and they shared music with each other. I thought this fandom could be great for this prompt given that Adrien likes showers a little too much XD. Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment or Kudos if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!  
> -This story was originally posted on fanfiction.net by me


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